MANKATO, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team increased their winning streak to four on Friday night by defeating UMAC foe Bethany Lutheran on the road in straight sets, 25-21, 25-19, and 25-21.

In the first set, the Saints quickly jumped out to a 5-1 lead, aided by three consecutive kills from Morrin. The Knights responded by taking five of the next six to tie the game at 6-6. CSS would quickly retake the lead and go on a 6-0 run to push the score to 12-6. The Vikings continued to battle, taking four of the next five and cutting the lead to 13-10. The Saints took the next two points, attempting to to gain some breathing room, but the Vikings held firm, storming back to bring the set within one at 17-16, and again at 19-18. Despite Bethany's resilience, the Saints refused to squander the lead, finishing a 25-21 victory with a Taylor Orhn (Coleraine, Minn./Greenway HS) kill. CSS took six of the final nine points of the set to hold off the Viking comeback.

The second set began much like the first, as CSS took the early 5-1 lead, taking advantage of three attack errors. The Vikings again rallied back to tie the set at 7-7 all, and eventually took the lead at 9-8 as the Saints had five attack errors of their own during that stretch. St. Scholastica quickly recovered and took five of the next six to regain the lead at 13-10, with Birkeland recording a pair of assists and a kill in that stretch. After the Vikings cut the lead to one at 13-12, CSS opened up a five point lead, as a trio of Morrin kills and a pair of attack errors pushed the score to 18-13. Bethany Lutheran took the next two points, but the Saints continued to apply the pressure, taking the next four to open up a 22-15 lead. The Vikings would not go down without a fight, rallying to take four fo the next five to cut the CSS lead to 23-19. However, the comeback fell short, as a Kayla Horbacz (Isanti, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) kill and another attack error sealed the second set for the Saints, 25-19.

The back and forth battle continued in the third set, as the Saints opened up with a 8-4 lead. Again the Vikings rallied back to cut the lead to two at 9-7, taking advantage of a pair of Saints errors. The teams split the next four to bring the score to 11-9, but the Saints went on to open up a 16-10 lead by taking five of the next six, aided by three Viking attack errors. Bethany Lutheran took four of the next five to cut the lead in half at 17-14, but CSS went on another key 5-1 run to produce a seven point, 22-15 lead. Again, the Vikings would rally back, going on a quick 6-2 run to bring the score to 24-21, but their late comeback would fall short yet again, as a service error ended the set and the game, 25-21.

CSS was led by Kortney Morrin (Grantsburg, Wis./Grantsburg HS (Northern State)), who had nine kills and 12 digs. Danielle Benusa (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS) had 19 digs, while Erika Birkeland (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake HS) and Emily Jansen (Long Prairie, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle HS) finished with 13 assists apiece. The win puts the Saints (13-14, 85- UMAC) in position to tie for third tomorrow with Martin Luther, who are just ahead of CSS in the conference standings. The Saints take on the Knights tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m., and live video can be seen on Saints Sports Net.