Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Superior, Wis. – The St. Scholastica volleyball team ventured over the bridge to compete in the UW-Superior Tournament. The Saints played two games today, Saturday, September 7. They kicked things off against Marian University at 12 p.m. followed by the University of Wisconsin-Superior at 2 p.m. 

Saints Takeaways

The Saints pulled together two wins during day two of the tournament, Ava Swangstue (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River HS) and Lindsey Baribeau (Biwabik, Minn./Mesabi East HS) led the team in kills with a total of 18 for Swangstue and 17 for Baribeau in both games. Grace Myhre (Aberdeen, S.D./Aberdeen Central HS) set up the most kills from the front row, tallying 35 assists. Following close behind was Natalie Yackley (New Ulm, Minn./New Ulm HS), with 30 assists. Also, Bryn Zeigler dug down and deep for a total of 41 digs. 

With a sweep on day two, the Saints opened with a shutout win against the Marian University Sabers (25-17, 25-19, 25-23), and ended the day with a 3-1 win against the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets. (25-20, 21-25, 29-27, 25-21)

How it Happened

Vs. The Marian University Sabres

Going into the opening game of the day, and the third of the tournament, the Saints were riding high, coming off their upset against Martin Lutheran College.

Once the first serve was off, there was no hesitation from the Blue and Gold. Set one went back and forth with the Saints always having the edge. The nail in the coffin was a 4-0 run to end the game, two of which were kills both by Kaitlyn Jones, and both assisted by Yackley. The final score of set one was 25-17.

The Second set was impressively similar to the first, with the Saints vastly outperforming the Sabers, often going on scoring runs over three points at a time. This was very useful for the Saints' offense as it allowed them to pull away from the Sabres with little worry. Along with the scoring runs that bolstered their lead, the Saints led in most facets of the game. A key area they led was hitting percentage. The Saints out-hit the Sabers .063 to -.103. While it was a closer set, the Saints pulled away winning again, 25-19. 

Set three was a much tighter match. While the final score was 25-23, this set was the definition of a back-and-forth game, with both sides fighting for control. It wouldn't last long for the Saints to begin to pull away. The Saints never relinquished the lead early in the set when the score hit 4-3. As the match point of the game rolled around, the shutout was secured by Mikayla Peterson with a statement kill to send the Sabers packing. 

Vs. The University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets 

The Saints brought more energy and vigor with them onto the court coming off two consecutive wins and a shutout just minutes before game two. The Saints were seeking the same opening they had to their first set of the day, however, that would not be the case as the Yellowjackets would get multiple runs giving them an early lead. But that energy the Saints had going into the first set was enough to keep their fight alive. That was evident at the 18-16 mark when the ball was headed towards the ground fast, but the Saints put life and limb on the line to keep the ball alive and launch it over the net back to the Yellowjackets. 

The Saints maintained this fight as their libero Zeigler made an excellent dig to Yackley who set up for a beautiful assist to give the Saints their 21st point, forcing a Yellowjacket timeout. Coming off two errors by the Yellowjackets, the Saints secured the final two points needed for the win in set one with a final score of 25-20. 

Set two was another well-fought effort, with lead changes and spectacular plays, however, it was not enough for the Saints to push through. The Saints refused to go quietly racking up three points to try and stay in it, but it was too little too late as the Yellowjackets were up by four. UW-Superior ended up taking set two with a final score of 21-25. With the game even, the Saints still had momentum to propel them, accompanied by a fire under them from the previous loss.  

The Saints started things off very quickly with a 3-0 lead resulting from exquisite skill and effort on the floor. The Saints had the lead for the majority of the opening until a series of errors resulted in the Yellowjackets taking the lead 8-10. 

The Saints then went on a 5-0 run to take the lead once again, forcing a Yellowjacket timeout. Nearing the end, the Saints managed to execute on both offense and defense, to tie the game 23-23. Countless lead changes forced the set to go longer. The third set would end with a final score of 29-27. The Yellowjackets would commit an attacking error as a result of Zeigler launching the ball over the net to secure the high-energy win for the Saints. 

Going into the fourth, mirroring the third set, the Saints opened up with a 3-0 lead. CC Seibel (Bloomer, Wi/Bloomer HS) saw her opening and ran with an impressive kill directed to a wide open section of the court to give the Saints an 8-1 lead. 

Sitting at 16-6, the Saints forced another timeout following a serving ace to bring their lead to 10 points. But that would not be all for the Yellowjackets, as they would go on a 2-8 run, putting them back within four points. 

With a kill from Seibel, the Saints took a 24-17 lead. Again that would not be all for the Yellowjackets, making a difficult comeback and putting the Saints on their heels, with a score of 24-21. The Saints would call a timeout to try and close the game. Under pressure, Swangstue makes a final kill by a matter of inches. The Saints took the win in set four to secure their third consecutive win with a final score of 25-21. 

Up Next

The Saints will head over to Ripon, Wisconsin for their third two-day tournament of the season. On opening day, Friday, September 13 the Saints will face Carroll University at 6 p.m. and host team, Ripon College at 8 p.m. Day two, Saturday, September 14, the Saints will hit the court twice, taking on the Maranatha Baptist University at 11 a.m. The final game of the tournament will be at 1 p.m. against Alverno College.