ATLANTA, Ga. -- The St. Catherine University volleyball team opened the season with a 2-0 day In Atlanta, Georgia appearing in the Jenny McDowell Invitational hosted by Emory University. The Wildcats opened the season with a 3-1 defeat of LaGrange College followed by a 3-2 match win over Olgethrope University. St. Kate's has two more matches in Atlanta competing against tournament host Emory followed by a game against LeTourneau on Saturday to round out the non-conference trip. 
 

"Getting two hard fought wins was a great way to start to our season", said head coach Todd Nelson.. "The team showed a lot of resolve and responded to challenges well."

MATCH ONE | St. Catherine 3, LaGrange 1
St. Catherine opened its season in strong fashion, powering past LaGrange in four sets, 3–1. After dropping the second set, the Wildcats regrouped and dominated the third 25–10 before sealing the match 25–17.

Madison Fagan led the way with 11 kills on .556 hitting, while Addison Preuss ran the offense with 22 assists and chipped in five aces. Libero Liz Rosen anchored the defense with 25 digs, and Mallory Johnson added timely swings and blocks at the net. St. Catherine's serving pressure and 8.0 team blocks kept LaGrange off balance throughout, holding the hosts to just .033 hitting for the match.

MATCH TWO | St. Catheine 3, Olgethrope 2
St. Catherine outlasted Oglethorpe in five,taking set one, three and five hitting .188 to .145 and winning the net with 9.5 blocks. Mallory Johnson led with 13 kills (.355), while Liz Rosen was everywhere—43 digs and 9 kills—with Quinlynn Parish (8 kills, 19 digs) steady on the pin. The two-setter combo of Addison Preuss (19 assists, 12 digs) and Jalyn Wolle (15 assists) fueled a .462 swing in the fifth, where a 6–0 burst put the tiebreak out of reach.

St. Kate's will face Emory on Saturday before closing out their time in Georgia facing LeTourneau.