DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team begins its four-match home stretch to close the regular season on Saturday when it welcomes Bethany Lutheran College and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for a triangular at the Reif Gymnasium.
Where:
Reif Gymnasium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday
vs. Bethany Lutheran – 1 p.m.
vs. UW-River Falls – 5 p.m.
Live Video: http://www.csssaints.com/showcase
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/wvball
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/SaintsVball
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaintsvball
Facebook:
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 10-17, 6-7 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-The Saints are coming off a thrilling five-set victory over Hamline University on Tuesday.
-CSS fought off seven match points in the fifth set and recorded a program record 21 points in that set to win.
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Brooke Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) and
Brooke Schermann (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) matched career-highs in kills,
Madissen Burns (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS) had a season-high in kills,
Espi Austvold (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) had a career high in assists and
McKenzie Orr (Rice Lake, Wis./Rice Lake HS) had a career-high in digs.
-The Saints had a season-high 102 digs on Tuesday; the last time CSS went over 100 digs in a match was in the 2015 season vs. UW-Stout.
-CSS is 3-0 in five-set matches this season.
-The Saints enter Saturday tied with Bethany Lutheran for the fifth-and-final postseason spot with three league matches remaining.
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Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool) is five kills shy of 200 for the season; Her 195 kills are already a career-high.
-Houser continues to lead the conference with 45 blocks in league matches.
-In the last 20 instances where the Saints played two matches on a day, CSS has swept both matches once, split 13 times and have been swept six times.
What You Need to Know about Bethany Lutheran:
-The Vikings enter Saturday's matches with a 10-16 overall record and a 6-7 conference record.
-The Vikings are coming off a sweep of Crown College on Tuesday.
-Bethany has a tough road ahead if they want to make the postseason with matches at CSS and rival Martin Luther College, along with closing the regular season against the University of Northwestern.
-BLC is over .500 on the road (5-4), but under .500 at home and in neutral site matches.
-The Vikings lead the conference with 2.01 service aces per set.
-Veeva Lee leads the league with 41 service aces.
-Megan Rutt leads the offense with 287 kills and averages 3.3 kills per set, which ranks third in the conference.
-Jasmine Carlson ranks second in the UMAC, averaging 8.1 assists per set.
Series Record: CSS leads 20-8
(Last Meeting: 3-0 CSS – 9/22/2017)
Series History: The Saints swept the Vikings earlier this season in Mankato … CSS has won 17 straight over Bethany Lutheran with 14 of those 17 wins coming by sweep … The Saints are 10-2 all-time against the Vikings at the Reif.
What You Need to Know about UW-River Falls:
-The Falcons enter Saturday with a 16-12 overall record, but are 0-5 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
-River Falls is coming off a three-set loss to Northwestern on Saturday.
-Amara Meyer leads the offense with 276 kills and 2.58 kills per set.
-Karli Nielsen leads the team with a .257 hitting percentage and 96 total blocks, which leads the WIAC and ranks 10
th in the nation.
-The Falcons rank ninth in NCAA Division III with 194.5 total blocks.
-Hannah Robb averages 5.0 digs per set and ranks ninth in the country with 530 total digs
Series Record: CSS leads 9-8-1
(Last Meeting: 3-0 UWRF – 10/7/2017)
Series History: The Saints defeated the Falcons two weeks ago 3-1 in Eau Claire … This will be River Falls' first-ever trip to face the Saints in Duluth.
Looking Ahead: The Saints face North Central University (Minn.) at the Reif Gymnasium on Wednesday. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
