Notables
-Second time this season CSS was swept by the Eagles
-Eagles are the highest ranked team ever faced by the Saints at home
-UNW is undefeated in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC)

DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica volleyball team suffered a loss in three sets against No. 7 University of Northwestern (Minn.) on Friday at the Reif Gymnasium.

The Action
The Saints put up a good fight in the first set, with the lead between the two teams switching five different times. A kill from Brooke Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) started things off for the Saints and they kept things close with some good rallies in the first points of the game. Five unanswered points from CSS put them up 9-6, then four consecutive points came from the Eagles to fit the back-and-forth theme of the set. By the end of the set, UNW was ahead 24-20 but the Saints took three points in a row to get to 24-23 before the Eagles finished off the set.

The Saints struck first again in the second set on a service error from the Eagles, but UNW quickly took control. Seven points in a row put the Eagles up 16-8 and the Saints couldn't make up ground after that. The end of the set saw Northwestern up by more than 10, winning with a final score of 25-14. 

A kill from Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool) was the first point on the board in the third set but then the Eagles went on a streak of three, followed immediately by a streak of seven points to get ahead 10-2 and it went downhill for the Saints after that. The Eagles finished the match with four consecutive blocks to win by a final score of 25-11.

Notable Performances
Elvehjem led the offense with nine kills, followed Houser and Tatum Swanson (Carlton, Minn./Wrenshall HS) with five kills each. Espi Austvold (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) contributed to the match with 14 set assists, followed by Kelsi Rippberger (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) with 12. Austvold, Taylor Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS), and Brooke Schermann (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) each had nine digs.

Two Eagles had double digit kills in the match. Lindsey Peterson had 20 kills and Kayla Tanner had 10. Leesa Malone had 19 assists, and on defense Jackie Doering had 15 digs.

Up Next
The Saints (7-15, 5-6 UMAC) head to Eau Claire tomorrow to take on University of Wisconsin-River Falls at noon and the University of Wisconsin-Stout at 4 p.m.