Box Score Box Score
DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica volleyball team had to hang on and defeat Martin Luther College 3-2 this afternoon on Senior Day at Reif Gym.
The victory means the Saints have clinched the No. 2 seed and will host Bethany Lutheran College, who defeated Northland today, Tuesday night in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament semifinal. Martin Luther will be the four-seed and will travel to Northwestern College on Tuesday.
CSS took a 10-3 lead in the first set and went on to win 25-19. The Saints had a .273 attack percentage in the set, their best of the match. The Saints broke open a close second set when they went on an 8-0 run halfway through to win by a score of 25-15.
The Knights hung in it and played tough in the third set, leading for most of the set to win by a score of 25-20. In the fourth set, the Saints had a 19-15 lead until the Knights battled back and won by a score of 26-24 to force a fifth-and-deciding set.
Martin Luther scored the first two points in the fifth set and the score remained close as it was 8-7 when the teams switched sides. CSS went on a 5-0 run to make it 14-9 and senior #Erin Niles# (Sr.-Grand Rapids, Minn.) gave the Saints the 15-10 victory with a kill to close out the match.
#Shawna Varichak# (Sr.-Hibbing, Minn.) had 15 kills to lead the Saints. #Amy Thompson# (Sr.-Onamia, Minn.) had 14 kills and three service aces. Erin Niles (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) had a season-high 11 kills and #Megan Baartman# (Jr.-Andover, Minn.) added 10 kills. #Caitlin Aten# (Fr.-Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) had 46 set assists and #Cassie Roden# (Sr.-Sauk Rapids, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) had 28 digs.
The Saints end the regular season with a 16-11 overall record and an 11-3 conference mark. The Saints went 8-1 at home during the regular season. The Knights fall to 13-15 overall and 9-5 in the conference. The Saints honored five seniors today: Shawna Varichak (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS), Dustie Richardson (Grand Rapids, Minn./Greenway HS) (Sr.-Grand Rapids, Minn./Greenway), Erin Niles (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS), Cassie Roden (Sauk Rapids, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS), and Amy Thompson (Onamia, Minn./Onamia HS).
The Saints will host Bethany Lutheran College Tuesday night in the UMAC Tournament Semifinals. The match will begin at 7 p.m. in Reif Gym.
