Notables
-CSS failed to convert 16 set points between the first and second sets
-Houser had a career high seven blocks
-Kienzle had a career-high 14 kills
-CSS' 3-10 start marks the worst start to a season since 1995 (3-13)
-Morris strung together 10 aces, while CSS only managed to earn three
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team opened up conference play Saturday afternoon against the University of Minnesota Morris Cougars. The match would also mark the home opener for CSS, who eventually fell in three sets to Morris during its Reif Gymnasium debut.
Despite being swept 3-0, the Saints looked rather sharp in the first two sets. In the first set, which was the longest set of the year for both teams, CSS held a commanding 23-18 lead coming out of a Morris timeout. There were three ties up to the 23-18 mark, but no lead changes as the Saints were the only ones to have a point advantage throughout the majority of the set.
The Cougars, thanks in part to Marissa Ekness, clawed their way back and tied the Saints at 24 for the fourth tie of the first set. St. Scholastica managed to trade points with the Cougars after the 24-all score, which gave them multiple chances to put the game away. Morris didn't go down, however, as they defended set point after set point and finally managed to pull ahead for its first lead of the match at a score of 32-31 and then proceeded to end the set on the very next serve.
The second set was déjà vu for the Saints, as again they jumped out to a large lead over the Cougars early on and continued to dominate until late in the set. The early dominance was mostly asserted by
Nikki Kienzle (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) and
Noelle Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS), as both proved to be a tough task for the Cougars by combining for nine kills in the set.
CSS found themselves up by as much as six (20-14) in set number two, but started to falter once communication became a problem and a few errors were committed. Despite a few errors, the Saints earned more set points as the scoreboard read 24-20 in favor of the home team. Yet again CSS was halted by the Cougar defense as Morris scored five straight points to take a 25-24 lead. The teams then exchanged points until Morris finally put away the Saints at a score of 30-28.
The third set wasn't close, unlike that of the first two. It was a two-sided story as one could see the frustration the Saints were dealing with as well as the momentum Morris was carrying over from their second straight comeback victory. CSS fell behind early at 10-3, which proved to be too difficult to comeback from as they lost by a final score of 25-21.
Amanda Belden (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) helped surge a small hope for the Saints with back-to-back kills late in the set, but the damage was too severe.
Top Performers
The Saints were led offensively by Kienzle (14 kills) and
Espi Austvold (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) (23 assists).
Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool) and Belden held down the squad defensively, as Belden was responsible for a team-high 20 digs and Houser recorded a staggering seven blocks.
Morris was led by the dynamic duo of Ekness and Layne Herrmann. Ekness recorded a game-high 26 kills to go along with her 11 digs and four aces. Herrmann tallied up a game-high 33 assists, but also had 15 digs and five kills in the match.
Up Next
Up next for St. Scholastica (3-10, 0-1 UMAC) is a UMAC contest against the North Central University Rams. The match will begin at 7 p.m. in Minneapolis on Tuesday night.
