ST. PAUL, Minn. — The St. Catherine University volleyball team battled an unbeaten University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh squad Friday evening at the Butler Center, falling in three sets, 25-17, 28-26, 25-23. The loss moved the Wildcats to 2-8 on the season, while UW-Oshkosh improved to 10-0.
St. Kate's finished the match with 35 kills and 62 digs, putting together its strongest offensive performance in the second set with 15 kills and a .268 hitting percentage.
Sophomore
Maddie Newton led the Wildcat attack with nine kills while adding 14 digs for a strong all-around performance.
Marta Haugen followed with eight kills and a solo block, while
Addison Vandereide recorded seven kills and contributed a block assist.
Alivia Hanover and
Emma Nordeen each added four kills.
Defensively, Maneeje Mostaghimi anchored the Wildcats with a match-high 25 digs and added a service ace.
Grace Nelson reached double figures with 10 digs. St. Catherine split setting duties between
Addison Preuss, who totaled 15 assists, five digs and an ace, and
Jalyn Wolle, who finished with 13 assists, two digs and an ace.
UW-Oshkosh jumped out quickly in the opening frame, building an 11-2 advantage. The Wildcats chipped away at the deficit behind kills from Haugen, Vandereide and Nordeen, including a late stretch that brought St. Catherine within four at 20-16. The Titans responded by scoring five of the final six points to take the opener 25-17.
The Wildcats answered with their best set of the night in the second. St. Catherine held an early 6-3 advantage and stayed within striking distance throughout the frame. After trailing 19-12, the Wildcats mounted a comeback, eventually tying the score at 22-22 on consecutive Newton kills.
Neither side could create separation from there. Newton tied the set again at 24-24 before Haugen answered with a kill at 25-25. Mostaghimi's service ace then gave St. Catherine set point at 26-25, but UW-Oshkosh responded with three straight points to escape with a 28-26 win. The set featured 10 ties and three lead changes.
St. Catherine continued to challenge the Titans in the third. After trailing 9-7, the Wildcats rattled off five consecutive points, getting kills from Haugen and
Quinlynn Parish along the way to move in front 12-9. The teams went back and forth before UW-Oshkosh regained the advantage and eventually reached match point at 24-19.
The Wildcats refused to go quietly. After an Oshkosh service error, St. Catherine forced three consecutive Titan attack errors to cut the deficit to 24-23. UW-Oshkosh finally ended the rally with a kill to close out the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
The St. Kate's Quad continues on Saturday with three matches at Butler Center. The Titans start the day facing University of Northwestern St. Paul at 11 am followed by the Wildcats hosting No. 7 ranked Juniata College. The day ends with No. 1 ranked UW-Oshkosh and No. 7 Juniata.
