Notables
-CSS vs. BLC was the UMAC Game of the Week
-CSS has won 19 straight over Bethany Lutheran
-Northwestern ranked No. 25 in AVCA poll
-Bounds is eight kills shy of 500 and Schermann is 21 kills shy

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DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team split its third consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) triangular on Saturday at the Reif Gymnasium.
 
#25 UNW 3, CSS 1
The Saints opened with 25^th-ranked University of Northwestern (Minn.) and fell to the Eagles in four sets. The Eagles (11-4, 6-0 UMAC) would have a hitting percentage of over .300 in each of the four sets.
 
The Saints jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set, but Northwestern responded with seven straight points and would not relinquish the lead to win 25-21.
 
It was another run early in the second set that let the Eagles pull away and cruise to a two sets-to-none lead at 25-14. CSS would not be swept as it lead 17-9 in the third set, but would have to hold off the Eagles late. After Northwestern tied it at 23-23, a service error followed by an Emily Bounds (Hill City, Minn./Hill City HS) kill gave the Saints the set 25-23.
 
St. Scholastica led 7-3 in the fourth set, but the Eagles went on a 7-1 run later on to take control and take the match 25-19.
 
Brooke Schermann (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) led the Saints with 12 kills. Morgan Lohmiller (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes HS) added a career-high nine kills. Espi Austvold (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) had a team-high 21 assists, edging teammate Kelsi Rippberger (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS), who had 20. Makenna Quinn (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) had a team-high 11 digs.
 
CSS 3, BLC 0
The Saints completed the day by sweeping Bethany Lutheran College.
 
CSS controlled the first set and led 23-10 at one point to ultimately win 25-13. Schermann and Bounds had three kills each in the set.
 
The second set saw St. Scholastica use an 8-0 run and a 7-0 run to win 25-15 and take two-set lead. Madissen Burns (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS) and Schermann had three kills apiece in that set.
 
The third set would be the tightest, but the Saints held off the Vikings (4-11, 2-4 UMAC) to win 25-23.
 
Schermann led the Saints with eight kills. Sofia Rajala (Deer River, Minn./Greenway HS) and Bounds each added seven kills. Rippberger had a team-high 19 assists.
 
Up Next
The Saints (5-9, 3-3 UMAC) will have one more conference triangular on Wednesday when they head to Morris, Minnesota to face both University of Minnesota Morris and North Central University.