DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team will open its season at the University of Northwestern's Kathryne Pals Legacy Invitational on Friday. CSS will face Concordia College-Moorhead at 3 p.m. and Loras College (Iowa) at 5 p.m.
Where:
Ericksen Center – Roseville, Minn.
When:
Friday
vs. Concordia-Moorhead – 3 p.m.
(Live Stats)
vs. Loras – 5 p.m.
(Live Stats)
Saturday
vs. UW-Stevens Point – 11 a.m.
(Live Stats | Live Video)
vs. Buena Vista – 1 p.m.
(Live Stats)
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/SaintsVball
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaintsvball
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/csssaints
St. Scholastica Saints
2016 Stats
2016 Record: 12-16, 6-2 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Season Outlook: The Saints finished third in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) last season and had their season come to an end in the UMAC Tournament semifinals at the University of Minnesota Morris … CSS finished under .500 for the first time since the 2013 season and for only the third time since 2001 … St. Scholastica enters the 2017 season having to replace First Team All-UMAC selection
Noelle Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS), as well as, honorable mention selections
Nikki Kienzle (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) and
Alex Barsody (Onamia, Minn./Onamia HS) … CSS also has to replace outside hitter
Amanda Belden (Esko, Minn./Esko HS), who suffered a season-ended injury during the spring … Belden led the team with 234 kills in 2016 … Returning for CSS is senior middle blocker
Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool) …Houser was an honorable mention All-UMAC choice last season after leading the conference with 28 blocks in league matches … She also led the team with a .280 hitting percentage and 80 blocks … On the attack, the Saints will also look at junior
Emily Bounds (Hill City, Minn./Hill City HS) and sophomore
Brooke Schermann (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) to give the team a spark … Bounds had 105 kills last season, while Schermann had 85 kills as a freshman …
Brooke Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) returns after missing most of 2016 due to injury … Sophomore
Espi Austvold (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) looks to be the frontrunner at setter … Austvold played in 25 matches and recorded over 300 assists during her freshman campaign … The focus for the Saints in 2017 will be defensively and sophomore
McKenzie Orr (Rice Lake, Wis./Rice Lake HS) will step in to fill the void left by Barsody … Expect to see freshmen
Madissen Burns (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS),
Taylor Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) and
Kelsi Rippberger (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) in the rotation as well early on in the year
40th Season: 2017 will mark the 40th season of the volleyball program at The College of St. Scholastica ... In the program's first 39 years it has a record of 719-590-7 ... The Saints have won three NLCAA National Championships in the 1980s and made one NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 2011.
Coach Moore: Head Coach
Dana Moore enters her 21
st season leading the Saints … Under Moore, the Saints have finished in the top half of the UMAC every year and have reached the UMAC Tournament semifinals every year since 1998.
Success in Season Openers: CSS has won seven straight season opening matches, four of which by sweeps.
Tough First Two Weeks: The youthful Saints will face some stiff competition in the first two weeks of the season … Four of the first eight matches will be against teams that are either ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III poll or are receiving votes … Two of the teams also advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament last season.
Sibling Dual: Christaia's younger sister Karinne Houser is entering her freshman season at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point … The Saints play the Pointers Saturday morning.
Three Sets and Go Home: The final 10 matches of the 2016 season all ended in three sets with Saints going 5-5 in those matches.
Top 5 Matches to Watch
9/2 – vs. UW-Stevens Point
The Pointers finished the 2016 season ranked No. 25 in the AVCA Division III poll
9/8 vs. St. Thomas
The Tommies finished third in the MIAC last season, but won 18 of 21 matches at one point to advance to the NCAA Tournament
9/9 – vs. UW-La Crosse
The Eagles open the season ranked No. 18 in the poll and advanced to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament
10/6 – vs. Northwestern
The Eagles are coming off a NCAA National Semifinal appearance and begin the season ranked No. 4 in AVCA poll.
10/13 – at Minnesota Morris
The Cougars have won four straight matches over the Saints and have ended CSS' season two of the last three years.
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. #4 Northwestern – 64 points (8 First Place Votes)
2. Minnesota Morris – 56 (1 First Place Vote)
3. St. Scholastica – 50 points
4. Martin Luther – 42 points
5. Bethany Lutheran – 34 points
6. Wisconsin-Superior – 33 points
7. North Central – 16 points
8. Northland – 15 points
9. Crown – 14 points
Upcoming Opponents
Concordia Cobbers
2016 Record: 9-18, 5-6 MIAC
The Cobbers went 1-3 at the Northwestern Tournament a season ago and finished the season dropping eight of their last nine matches … Concordia has been picked to finish eighth in the 11-team Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) this season … The Cobbers return sophomore Brianna Carney, who became the first Concordia freshman since 2012 to earn All-MIAC accolades … Carney led the team in kills and blocks, and ranked second in attack percentage during conference play.
Loras Duhawks
2016 Record: 12-18, 2-6 IIAC
The Duhawks have been picked to finish fifth in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) this season … Loras will be led by senior AVCA All-Region honoree Haley Bergan … Bergan recorded 596 digs, including 6.34 digs per set last season … Offensively, sophomore Kelly Boge returns after recording 195 kills and 53 blocks in her freshman season.
UW-Stevens Point Pointers
2016 Record: 27-7, 4-3 WIAC
The Pointers saw their 2016 season come to an end with a five-set loss in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament semifinals and were subsequently left out of the NCAA Tournament … Stevens Point enters the season receiving votes in the AVCA Division III poll, but will have to replace WIAC Defensive Player of the Year Bri Peipenbrok as well as outside hitter Kelly Cefalu … The Pointers do not return a single All-WIAC performer and return only two starters … Kelly Magliano is back in the middle after leading the team in blocks a season ago.
Buena Vista Beavers
2016 Record: 14-14, 4-4 IIAC
The Beavers have been picked to finish tied for sixth IIAC preseason poll … Buena Vista returns senior outside hitter Jade Schaap, who was an All-IIAC performer last year … Schaap recorded 358 kills in 106 sets … She will joined by fellow seniors Ali Grein and Jamie Navinskey … Grein had 57 blocks and over 200 kills in the middle last season, while Navinskey had over 150 kills and 150 digs.
Series Records:
-Concordia leads CSS 5-1-1
(Last Meeting: 3-1 CC – 10/17/2015)
-Loras leads CSS 3-2
(Last Meeting: 3-2 Loras – 9/4/2015)
-UW-Stevens Point leads CSS 8-3
(Last Meeting: 3-1 UWSP – 9/7/2012)
-CSS leads Buena Vista 2-1
(Last Meeting: 3-0 CSS – 9/7/2001)
Series Histories: The Saints have dropped four straight to Concordia-Moorhead, three of which have been by sweep … The last meeting was in 2015 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where the Cobbers won in four sets … The lone victory for the Saints took place way back in 1981 /// CSS have lost three straight to Loras, all in five sets … The last meeting took place at this same Northwestern Tournament in 2015 … CSS last defeated the Duhawks in 1989 /// UW-Stevens Point has won the last two meetings against the Saints … The last meeting took place at the Augsburg Tournament in 2012 /// St. Scholastica has won the last two meetings against Buena Vista as the teams have not met since the 2001 season.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will be back in the Twin Cities next weekend for the Augsburg College Tournament where they will open with the University of St. Thomas and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire next Friday.
