DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team heads to Martin Luther College Monday night for the opening round match of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament.
Where:
MLC Gymnasium – New Ulm, Minn.
When:
Monday at 7 p.m.
Live Video: https://livestream.com/mlc-knightvision
Live Stats: https://livestats.mlc-wels.edu/volleyball/
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/SaintsVball
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaintsvball
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/csssaints
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 13-18, 9-7 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-The Saints enter as the No. 5 seed in the UMAC Tournament, their lowest seed ever entering the tournament.
-The last time CSS played in the opening round match was in 2015 when it was the No. 4 seed hosting Martin Luther and won in four sets.
-St. Scholastica enters the postseason on its best stretch of the season, winning four of the last five.
-The Saints had their best hitting percentage of the year (.442) in Saturday's win over Crown College.
-Senior
Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool) is the first Saint since 2007 to record over 100 blocks in a season and currently has 102.
-In league matches, Houser led the conference with 59 total blocks, was fifth with 133 kills and second with 22 service aces.
-Houser has recorded at least 10 kills in five straight matches.
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Emily Bounds (Hill City, Minn./Hill City HS) had career-highs of 12 kills in each matchup with MLC during the regular season.
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Brooke Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) matched a career-high with 14 kills vs. the Knights in the five-set victory in New Ulm.
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Brooke Schermann (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) also matched a career-high with 15 kills in that match.
-The Saints are 10-1 this season when they have an attack percentage over .200
-CSS is 7-7 in matches that exceed three sets.
What You Need to Know about Martin Luther:
-The Knights finished the regular season 15-16 and 10-6 in conference play.
-Martin Luther defeated rival Bethany Lutheran College in five sets last Wednesday, but were swept by conference champion Northwestern in three sets on Saturday; both matches took place at home.
-MLC is 4-1 in five-set matches, with the only loss coming against the Saints.
-The Knights averaged the fewest digs per set (13.1) in the conference during the regular season.
-MLC is led by Jade St. Germaine, who has 287 kills and Kira Grev, who has 227 kills.
-Grev led the team in conference play with 131 kills vs. conference opponents.
-Rylee Weisensel ranked second in the conference with 56 total blocks in league play.
-Taylor Weber was second in the UMAC with 248 digs in conference play.
Series Record: CSS leads 54-33
(Last Meeting: 3-2 CSS – 9/30/2017)
Series History: The teams split during the regular season with MLC winning in four at the Reif and the Saints winning in five sets in New Ulm … CSS has won the last three meetings at Martin Luther … The Saints have also won the last four postseason matchups with the Knights.
Looking Ahead: The winner of Monday's match travels to top-seeded University of Northwestern (Minn.) for the UMAC semifinals Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
