Notables
-Saints have yet to win the first set of a match this season
-Both wins for CSS have come against the Cobbers
-Win against Concordia ends seven-match losing streak for CSS
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica volleyball team went on a road trip on Friday afternoon to play in the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Nike/Eastbay Fall Classic where it ended up splitting with a 3-2 victory over Concordia College-Moorhead and a 3-1 loss to Lakeland University (Wis.), snapping the Saints' seven-match losing streak.
CSS 3, Concordia 2
In the first match of the day for CSS, the Saints and the Cobbers traded victories back and forth, relying on the fifth set tiebreaker to decide the winner. Concordia defeated St. Scholastica in the first game, 25-19. The second set saw a replicated score of 25-19, but this time in favor of CSS. The third set was a much closer contest, with no team leading by more than five points at any time, but the Saints ultimately fell 26-24 despite having two set points. The Saints stepped up their game in the fourth set to keep themselves in the match, winning 25-22 thanks in part to a five-point run for CSS, which gave them a 19-17 lead and boosted them to the win. The final set of the game defied the pattern previously seen in the match and was won by St. Scholastica with a score of 15-12.
Brooke Elvehjem (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) and Tatum Swanson (Carlton, Minn./Wrenshall HS) led the offense for CSS with 12 kills a piece, followed by Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool), who collected 10. Espi Austvold (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) pulled in 24 assists, and Kelsi Rippberger (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) tallied 22. Taylor Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) had 21 digs during the match.
Lakeland 3, CSS 1
The Saints did not find such success in their second match of the evening. They fell to Lakeland in the first two sets with respective scores of 25-20 and 25-15. The Saints came back competitively in the third set and defeated the Muskies 25-19, then fell in the fourth set with a score of 25-13 to round out the match.
Houser led the offense with another 10 kills and Emily Bounds (Hill City, Minn./Hill City HS) contributed nine kills to the match. Austvold had another 22 assists, for a grand total of 46 on the night.
Up Next
The Saints (2-8) have their home opener on Saturday when they host their first conference triangular. CSS will play Martin Luther to begin the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play with the match set to being at 2 p.m. in the Reif Gymnasium. Crown and Martin Luther will then play in the Reif at 4 p.m. for the second match of the day. CSS finishes with Crown at 6 p.m.
