DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team will have its first home match of the season on Saturday and will also begin Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action when it hosts the University of Minnesota Morris at the Reif Gymnasium.
Where:
Reif Gymnasium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday at 3 p.m.
Live Stats/Video vs. Minnesota Morris: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn
Social Media:
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www.twitter.com/SaintsVball
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 3-9, 0-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Last Action: The Saints were 2-2 at the UMAC Preview Tournament in Morris … CSS fell in three sets to No. 25 University of Northwestern and in four sets to this week's opponent Minnesota Morris … The Saints swept both Martin Luther College and the University of Wisconsin-Superior …
Noelle Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) led the team with 38 kills on the weekend and a .400 hitting percentage … CSS had a season-high .344 hitting percentage in the victory over Martin Luther and a season-high nine service aces in the sweep over UWS.
Houser Named POW: Junior middle hitter
Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool) was named the UMAC Defensive Player of the Week this week … Houser recorded 14 total blocks in the four matches over the weekend, which averaged to 1.08 blocks per set … She is the first Saint to earn defensive player of the week honors since October of the 2014 season.
It's not How you Start, but How you Finish: The Saints have lost 10 straight matches that have gone five sets … Three of the last five, five-set losses have come when the Saints won the first two sets … CSS has lost a match in which it led by two sets in each of the past three seasons … Prior to that, the last time it happened was the 2006 season … The last five-set victory for the Saints was on October 30, 2013 against UW-Superior.
Jansen Nearing 1,000: Senior
Emily Jansen (Long Prairie, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle HS) is 13 assists shy of 1,000 for her career … In her four years, she has averaged 4.61 assists per set in a primarily 6-2 rotation.
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. Northwestern.......................................... 64 points (8 First Place Votes)
2. UW-Superior........................................... 53 points
3. St. Scholastica...................................... 50 points (1 First Place Vote)
4. Martin Luther........................................... 42 points
5. Minnesota Morris................................... 41 points
6. North Central.......................................... 25 points
7. Bethany Lutheran.................................. 23 points
8. Northland................................................. 15 points
9. Crown....................................................... 11 points
Upcoming Opponents
Minnesota Morris Cougars
Record: 5-8, 0-0 UMAC
The Cougars finished the UMAC Preview Tournament 3-1 last weekend, with the lone loss coming to Northwestern in four sets … Morris averages the second-most kills per set in the conference at 12.2 and average the most digs per set in the conference at 19.4 … Marissa Ekness leads the UMAC, averaging 4.71 kills per set … Setter Layne Herrmann leads the conference with 9.56 assists per set … Katie Reitsma leads the UMAC with 6.27 digs per set … Ekness and Reitsma were First Team All-UMAC selections last season … The Cougars have been blocked the most among conference teams this season at 2.35 per set, while the Saints rank second in the conference in blocks at 1.74 per set.
Series History: CSS leads Minnesota Morris 24-16
Last Meeting: The Saints fell to Minnesota Morris 3-1 last Saturday at the UMAC Preview Tournament … Two of the four sets were decided by just two points … The Cougars have won seven of the last eight in the series, including the last two meetings at the Reif.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will be at North Central University in Minneapolis on Tuesday night to face the Rams in a UMAC matchup.
