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St. Thomas Box Score

The St. Scholastica volleyball team split two games at the St. Mary's University Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic in Winona, beating Nebraska-Wesleyan in straight sets and falling to No. 10 St. Thomas 3-1.

The Saints started off their day against the Prairie Wolves of Nebraska-Wesleyan. The Saints got down early in the first set, and stayed down until two straight kills gave CSS a 9-8 lead. The two teams went back and forth before the Saints pulled ahead by five at 18-13, marking their biggest lead of the set. A comeback from the Prairie Wolves got them within one point late, but St. Scholastica scored three straight points to win the first set 25-21.

In the second set, the Saints jumped ahead early, but scoring was back and forth between the two teams early in the set. CSS then caught fire with three straight kills by Anna Zyvoloski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS (Minn.-Duluth)) to put the Saints ahead by three at 9-6. The Saints never looked back as they cruised to take the second set, 25-18.

The third set was all Saints as they grabbed the lead right away and held it for the entire set. CSS had 16 team kills in the third set to lift them to a 25-16 set win and a 3-0 sweep of the Prairie Wolves.

Zyvoloski led the way for the Saints, earning a double-double with 22 kills and 15 digs. Taylor Tyllia (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) had seven kills for CSS and Paige Hardy (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS) finished with six. Erika Birkeland (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake HS) had a team high 20 set assists with Sarah Kurtovich (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) adding 16 assists of her own. Senior libero Nikki Hughes (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern HS) led the way with 17 digs.

The Saints went into the second match of the day on an emotional high, with a tough team in 10th ranked St. Thomas ahead of them.

The Tommies came out strong and took the first set 25-17. The second set was the opposite story, as St. Scholastica won it handily 25-15.

The third set was the closest and toughest set of the match for the two teams. The Saints were up 17-10, but a huge comeback helped St. Thomas squeak by with a 25-22 victory.

The fourth set was all Tommies as they quickly downed the Saints 25-11, giving them the 3-1 match victory.

Zyvoloski led the Saints once again with nine kills in the match, and Hardy had seven. Kurtovich and Birkeland split time in this match as well, with Kurtovich recording 19 assists and Birkeland recording 16. Kurtovich also led the way with 16 digs, Hardy had 13, Hughes had 12 and Zyvoloski ended with 10. Megan Windschitl (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS) added four blocks, while Zyvoloski had three of her own.

The Saints' (5-1) next action will come on September 6, as they travel to Eau Claire, Wis. to battle Bethel University at 6 p.m. and will follow with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 8.