DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team has three matches in the next two days as it goes out of conference to face the College of Saint Benedict on Tuesday and then travels to Minneapolis for its final conference triangular against North Central University (Minn.) and the University of Minnesota Morris.
Where:
Tuesday
Claire Lynch Hall – St. Joseph, Minn.
Wednesday
CLC Gymnasium – Minneapolis, Minn.
When:
Tuesday
at St. Benedict – 7 p.m.
Wednesday
vs. Minnesota Morris – 5 p.m.
at North Central – 7 p.m.
Live Video/Stats vs. St. Ben's: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/csb/
Social Media:
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 5-11, 3-3 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Last Action: The Saints are coming off another conference triangular split on Friday with a sweep of Bethany Lutheran College and then being swept by No. 12 University of Northwestern (Minn.) … CSS never trailed in the Bethany match with
Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool) leading the team with 11 kills …
Emily Bounds (Hill City, Minn./Hill City HS) led the Saints with eight kills in the loss to the Eagles … Bounds went over 100 kills for the second straight season and is 21 kills shy of 300 for her career.
Starting to Find the Rhythm: Sophomore
Espi Austvold (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) averaged 9.77 assists per set in four matches last week for the Saints … In those matches, the Saints had three of their top five hitting percentages of the year.
Conference Triangulars: New this year around the conference is scheduling conference triangulars … Teams are playing 16 league matches this season and to allow for scheduling flexibility schools will be playing four UMAC triangulars during the first month of the season … Wednesday will be the final conference triangular of the season.
Multiple Match Struggles: In the last 18 instances where the Saints played two matches on a day, CSS has swept both matches one time and that was last season when it defeated Martin Luther and Hamline University at home … During that span, CSS has split 11 times and have been swept six times.
Houser Nearing 500: Christaia Houser (Esko, Minn./Homeschool) is four kills shy of 500 for her career … She has now recorded over 120 kills in all four seasons as a Saint.
2017 UMAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. 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
Saint Benedict Blazers
Record: 6-6, 2-1 MIAC
The Blazers are coming off a sweep of Hamline University on Friday in conference play … That was also the home opener for St. Ben's … Hunter Weiss leads the team with 127 kills, while Liz Schultz has 117 kills … Schultz ranks second in the conference with 0.56 service aces per set … Madison Weiss ranks second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) with 1.07 blocks per set … Setter Megan Pekarek is third in the MIAC with 9.95 assist per set … The Blazers were picked to finish sixth in the MIAC this season.
Minnesota Morris Cougars
Record: 13-4, 5-1 UMAC
The Cougars play Augsburg University on Monday night before facing North Central and St. Scholastica on Wednesday … Morris enters Monday night's contest on a four-match win streak, all by sweeps … The lone conference loss up to this point was a four-set defeat by Northwestern 10 days ago … The Cougars rank second in the UMAC with a .236 hitting percentage and is tied with Northwestern with lowest opponent hitting percentage (.128) … Morgan Miller leads the conference with a .328 attack percentage and is averaging 1.07 blocks per set … Katie Rietsma leads the league with 5.26 digs per set … Marissa Ekness is second in the conference at 3.76 kills per set.
North Central Rams
Record: 1-11, 0-6 UMAC
The lone victory of the season for the Rams was a four-set win over Faith Baptist Bible on September 9 … North Central has won sets against Bethany Lutheran and Northland thus far on the year, but have been swept eight times … The Rams have the fewest kills in the league (7.3 per set) and the fewest digs (11.5/set) … Sophomore Emma Middendorf leads the team with 100 kills.
Series Records:
-CSS leads St. Ben's 16-13
(Last Meeting: 3-0 CSB – 10/15/2016)
-CSS leads Minn. Morris 24-18
(Last Meeting: 3-0 UMM – 11/2/2016)
-CSS leads NCU 11-0
(Last Meeting: 3-0 CSS – 9/27/2016)
Series Histories: The Saints have dropped seven straight matches to Saint Benedict since defeating the Blazers in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Division III Tournament /// Minnesota Morris has won nine of the last 10 meetings against the Saints, including ending CSS' season with a three-set victory in last year's UMAC Tournament semifinals /// St. Scholastica has swept North Central in all 11 meetings.
Looking Ahead: The Saints begin the second half of the conference schedule on Saturday when they visit Martin Luther College at 3 p.m.
