Notables
-Swanson and Schermann each had 18 kills on the day
-Schermann also led the team with 34 digs on the day
-Austvold recorded a career-high 22 digs vs. St. Ben's
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica volleyball team went 1-1 on Saturday at the College of Saint Benedict Invitational in its first matches of the season in the Midwest.
CSS 3, Simpson 1
The Saints opened the day by defeating Simpson College (Iowa) in four sets. A mere seven points separated the first three sets of the match.
CSS scored five straight points early in the opening set to give themselves an early cushion. The Storm (4-5) rallied and would take a 16-15 lead, but the Saints responded and held a 23-19 lead. St. Scholastica led 24-22 and had two set points, but the Storm scored three straight and would have a set point themselves. However, a kill by
Tatum Swanson (Carlton, Minn./Wrenshall HS), followed by a kill by
Haley Rohwer (Arlington, Minn./Mayer Lutheran HS) put the Saints in position for their third set point.
Emily Bounds (Hill City, Minn./Hill City HS) would get a service ace to give CSS the opening set 27-25.
St. Scholastica led 22-17 in the second set, but Simpson recorded eight of the last nine points, including the final six to take set two 25-23.
The Saints bounced back quickly with four consecutive points to open the third set. After CSS led 19-13, the Storm rallied again and cut the score to 22-21. Rohwer picked up two straight points for the Saints, one by kill and another by block with Swanson.
Brooke Schermann (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) then ended the set with a kill as the Saints took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-22 set win.
The Saints would not allow another Simpson run the fourth set, as they ended the match with a 25-18 victory.
Rohwer and Schermann each had 10 kills to lead the Saints. Swanson added nine kills.
Espi Austvold (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) had 25 assists and
Ellie Greenwaldt (Raymond, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian School) added 16 assists. Schermann also led the team with 26 digs.
Saint Benedict 3, CSS 0
The Bennies (6-3) had a hitting percentage of .314, while the Saints were limited to a percentage of .086 as St. Ben's won in three sets.
The first set was the most competitive. The middle portion of the set saw the Bennies score six straight only to see the Saints respond with five straight and after two St. Ben's points, CSS recorded five consecutive points to take a 19-18 lead. St. Scholastica led 21-20, but Saint Benedict recorded the next five points to take the set 25-21.
CSS led early in set two by a score of 3-1. However, the Bennies rattled off seven straight points and went on to take the second set 25-12. St. Ben's did not trail in the third set as it capped off the match 25-13.
Bounds and Swanson each had nine kills to lead the Saints. Austvold had 22 assists and a career-high 22 digs.
Up Next
The Saints (2-4) will be at the Bethel Invitational on Friday where they will face Luther College (Iowa) at 5 p.m. and Bethel on 7 p.m.
