Notables-UMAC Tournament First Round match
-The Saints advance to take on Northwestern on the road in the UMAC Semifinals on Wednesday-Kortney Morrin (Grantsburg, Wis./Grantsburg HS (Northern State)) led the way for CSS with 18 kills and 17 digs.-Emily Jansen (Long Prairie, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle HS) and Emily Kessler (Blackberry, Minn./Greenway HS (Itasca CC)) were tied for the team lead with 24 assists.-St. Scholastica had 56 kills to the Knights' 24.
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team took advantage of the home court on Monday evening, defeating Martin Luther College in four sets to advance to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament semifinals on Wednesday.
The ActionThe first set saw the Knights strike first, as Martin Luther opened up the set with a quick 4-2 advantage. However, CSS would take the next seven points, bolstered by a trio of
Nikki Kienzle (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) kills to put the score at 9-5 and force a Knight timeout. Despite the timeout, the Knights would not come closer than three points, as the Saints rolled to the 25-18 victory.
The second set was all St. Scholastica, as the Saints carried momentum over from the previous set. After taking a 4-3 lead, the Saints would again go on a short run, taking the next five points to push the lead to 9-3, prompting another Martin Luther timeout. Again the timeout would prove ineffective, as the Saints quickly went up 12-4 and never looked back. The Knights would come within five at 17-12, but CSS would end the set by taking eight of the final nine points to slam the door on any hopes of a comeback. St. Scholastica would again prove victorious, 25-13.
The feisty Knights would not go down without a fight, however, as the teams would exchange points in the third set to a 7-7 tie. Martin Luther would have a short burst to open up an 11-8 lead, but the Saints would quickly erase the deficit with a 3-0 run of their own. The score would go back and forth to a tie at 16-16, but Martin Luther exploded to take six of the next seven points, opening up a 22-17 lead. The Saints would rally back, taking the next six of eight to bring the score to 24-23, but the Knights would squeeze out the 25-23 victory.
The Saints would respond well to the tough loss in the third set. After opening up a 5-4 lead, CSS bared down, taking seven of the next nine to double up the Knights at 12-6. Martin Luther made a short push to bring the score to 15-11, but St. Scholastica would not let up, taking six of the following seven points to take a comfortable 21-12 lead. That lead would prove too much for the Knights to overcome, as the Saints took the set and the match with a 25-15 victory.
Up NextThe Saints (16-12) look to ride the momentum into Wednesday, as the Saints travel to St. Paul to take on top seeded and regular season champion University of Northwestern at 7 p.m.
