NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Catherine University volleyball team closed out October with a hard-fought MIAC matchup against Carleton College on Saturday evening, falling in straight sets (12-25, 15-25, 22-25).
St. Catherine (5-18, 3-7 MIAC) was led offensively by Alivia Hanover, who finished with a team-high nine kills on 23 attempts for a .261 hitting percentage. Hanover also contributed three block assists, totaling 10.5 points in the match.
Carleton (15-10, 6-4 MIAC) established an early advantage in the opening set, using a balanced offensive attack to take control. The Wildcats received kills from Maddie Newton, Marta Haugen, and Hanover but were unable to overcome the Knights' momentum, dropping the first set 25-12.
The second set saw St. Catherine battle to a 10-10 tie behind contributions from Haugen, Hanover, and Addison Vandereide. However, Carleton responded with a decisive scoring run to pull away and take the set 25-15.
The Wildcats delivered their strongest performance in the third set, opening with a 5-2 advantage behind three early kills from Hanover and a service ace from Jalyn Wolle. St. Catherine continued to battle through a back-and-forth frame that featured nine ties and five lead changes.
A kill from Hanover and a combined block by Hanover and Quinlynn Parish helped the Wildcats build a 16-13 advantage midway through the set. Later, a kill from Haugen followed by another Wolle service ace gave St. Catherine a 21-19 lead. Carleton responded with four consecutive points to move ahead 23-21. Vandereide added a late kill to bring the Wildcats within one before the Knights secured the final two points for a 25-22 victory.
Alongside Hanover's nine kills, Haugen finished with eight kills, while Newton added five kills and a team-high 15 digs. Parish and Vandereide each contributed four kills, with Parish also recording three block assists.
Wolle directed the Wildcats' offense with 18 assists, adding eight digs and two service aces. Addison Preuss contributed seven assists, while Grace Nelson and Maneeje Mostaghimi each recorded 10 digs.
As a team, St. Catherine finished with 30 kills, 30 assists, 59 digs, three service aces, and four total blocks. The Wildcats recorded 13 kills in the final set, their highest single-set total of the evening.
St. Kate's will host Bethel Univeristy on Friday, November 6 at 7 pm for Senior Night to close out the season.
