Duluth, MN.- The St. Scholastica Volleyball team hosted an MIAC matchup in the Reif Gymnasium on Wednesday, October 16. The game began at 7 p.m. and was against Bethel University where the Saints were defeated in four intense sets.
How it Happened
Set 1
Lindsey Baribeau (Biwabik, Minn./Mesabi East HS) started set one with a kill right over the Royals' defense to give the Saints an early lead.
Katlyn Jones (Bloomer, WI/Bloomer HS) was on fire early in the set after slamming a ball on the floor and bringing the Saints to a one-point deficit to the Royals (8-7).
As the set progressed Grace Myhre (Aberdeen, S.D./Aberdeen Central HS) found a way to the front row and recorded a kill for the team. Jones found another scoring opportunity with a hole in the opposing defense after many attempts.
The Saints capitalized on the many errors from the other side but concluded set one with an 18-25 loss.
Set 2
Set two was a slow start for the Saints as they fought their way out of a three-point hole. Baribeau sparked the team's fire with a swift kill through the block.
The Saints then went on a run with an ace from Jones and a kill from Cassidy Lustig (Ashland, WI/Ashland HS). Mikala Peterson (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) and Ava Swanstue kept the ball rolling with a monumental block from the right side to make the score 4-3.
The front row defense on the Saints side remained solid with another block from Baribeau and Lustig on the Royals middle hitter giving the Saints a three-point lead.
Defensively, the Saints were relying on Bryn Ziegler (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson HS) who was flying across the court to defend the Saints and keep the ball alive.
With the score tied at 8-8, the Saints and Royals battled with a long rally that ended with a kill from Swangstue to secure the lead.
The Saints continued their unbreakable momentum with an eight-point run with Ziegler serving. This run was continued by kills and a block from Jones and Baribeau on top of two aces from Zeigler to make the score 18-10.
Bethel could not hold onto the ball for long as Baribeau earned another kill after the Royals first serve.
The Saints finished off the set with a win of 25-13 after Swangstue was able to find a hole in the Royals blockers and sent the ball sailing straight to the floor.
Set 3
After trailing by three the Saints had the dominant stamina and won a long back-and-forth rally to secure their second point of the game.
The Saints' defense remained aggressive with multiple bodies digging down deep to keep the ball alive. All these efforts did not go unnoticed as the Saints were able to profit off an attacking error from Bethel to make the score 3-7.
Jones was finding any possible opportunity to swing, and she found just the right gap to record another picture-perfect kill for the Saints at 5-9.
After repeated efforts on the Saints side to record a kill, Lustig found a way and brought the score to 12-18. This was followed by another kill from Jones down the line and to the floor.
The Saints refused to give up and pulled out of a seven-point deficit with kills from Jones and Peterson to make the score 16-20.
St. Scholastica was unable to capitalize on just their front row alone and lost the third set 25-18.
Set 4
Jones started set four hot recording the first kill and giving the Saints an early advantage at 1-0.
After back-to-back errors from the Royals, the score was tied 3-3.
The Saints were refusing to let the ball drop and had many scramble plays to try and side out. These efforts paid off as they regrouped to 6-10 and continued running.
St. Scholastica had their defense firing on all cylinders allowing the Saints to have many scoring opportunities and causing Bethel to make repeated errors.
After a block from Jones and Baribeau the Saints were tied with the Royals at 11-11 and the Saints were heating up.
Lustig and Baribeau each had another kill for the Saints but the team ultimately fell short of victory and lost the set 25-18 and the match 3-1.
Up Next
The Saints will head across the bridge to Superior, WI for a non-conference game against the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The game will commence on Friday, October 18 at 7 p.m.
