DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team opens Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament play on Wednesday when it takes on the University of Minnesota Morris.
Where:
P.E. Center – Morris, Minn.
When:
Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Live Video/Stats: http://ummcougars.org/watch/?Live=68
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/SaintsVball
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www.instagram.com/csssaintsvball
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 12-15, 6-2 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Last Action: The Saints swept Crown College in the regular season finale on Saturday …
Noelle Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) led CSS with 10 kills, followed by
Emily Bounds (Hill City, Minn./Hill City HS) with seven kills …
Alex Barsody (Onamia, Minn./Onamia HS) had 19 digs and
Emily Kessler (Grand Rapids, Minn./Greenway HS (Itasca CC)) had 13 assists.
Postseason History: The Saints have lost three straight UMAC Tournament semifinal matches with the last win coming in 2012 at home against Martin Luther College in five sets … CSS has not won a UMAC Tournament road match in its last four tries with the last postseason road win coming in the 2009 UMAC Tournament championship match at Northwestern.
Three Sets and Go Home: Each of the last nine matches for the Saints have been decided in three sets, with CSS going 5-4 in those matches … For the season, the Saints are 8-10 in three set matches.
Who to Watch: Amanda Belden (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) leads the Saints with 232 kills, while
Noelle Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) has 214 kills … Belden has a team-high six double-doubles, while Elvehjem recorded at least 10 kills in both against Morris during the regular season, including a season-high 14 in Morris on September 14 …
Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool) led the conference with 1.27 blocks per set in league action and
Nikki Kienzle (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) had the top hitting percentage in the UMAC (.413) in conference play.
Upcoming Opponents
Minnesota Morris
Record: 15-14, 7-1 UMAC
The Cougars enter Wednesday's semifinal match winners in five of their last six matches with the lone loss coming to the University of Northwestern last Wednesday … One of the victories was a four-set triumph over the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, who swept the Saints nine days earlier … The Cougars are led by Marissa Ekness, who leads the UMAC with 4.78 kills per set … Ekness is also second in the league with 38 service aces … Ekness is ranked fourth in NCAA Division III in kills per set and second in attacks per set (14.06) … Setter Layne Herrmann leads the UMAC with a 9.86 assists per set and is four shy of 1,000 for the season … Defensively, Katie Reitsma leads the conference with 6.27 digs per set … Morris as a team leads the UMAC with 18.57 digs per set and 167 service aces.
Series Record: CSS leads 24-17
(Last Meeting: 3-0 UMM – 9/24/2016)
Series History: The Saints have lost eight of the last nine matches against the Cougars, including losing twice this season … In the last matchup at the Reif Gymnasium, St. Scholastica failed to convert 16 set points between the first and second sets and got swept … The last time the two teams met in a UMAC Tournament semifinal was in Morris in 2014 where the Saints were a set away from downing the Cougars, but ultimately fell in five sets.
Looking Ahead: The winner of Wednesday's match will compete in the UMAC Tournament championship Saturday night at 7 p.m. … If top-seeded University of Northwestern wins its semifinal match, then it will host … However, if it fails to advance then the CSS-UMM winner will host Saturday Night.
