LA CROSSE, Wis. - The St.
Scholastica volleyball team closed out its weekend in La Crosse with a pair of victories on Saturday, taking down Luther College in four sets before outlasting Monmouth (IL) in a five-set thriller at Mitchell Hall.
In the opener, the Saints (6-3) controlled the match against Luther, winning 3-1 (25-7, 25-27, 25-16, 25-20). St. Scholastica set the tone early with a dominant first set, fueled by tough serving and strong defense.
Ava Swangstue (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River HS) powered the offense with 16 kills on .483 hitting, while
Lindsey Baribeau (Biwabik, MN/Mesabi East HS) chipped in 14 kills, four blocks, and 18 points. Setter
Natalie Yackley (New Ulm, MN/New Ulm HS) dished out 46 assists to pace the attack, while
Bryn Ziegler (Hutchinson, MN/Hutchinson HS) collected 26 digs in the back row.
The afternoon game against Monmouth proved to be a battle. After taking the opening set 25-22, the Saints dropped the next two frames before rallying to win the fourth 25-16 and clinching the match in a decisive 15-12 fifth set.
Baribeau continued her standout day with 18 kills on .412 hitting and eight blocks for 23 points. Swangstue added 13 kills and four blocks, while
Mikala Peterson (Mora, MN/Mora HS) tallied 13 kills and eight blocks.
Abby Zins (Chisago Lakes, MN/Chisago Lakes High School) was efficient with 12 kills at a .323 clip.
Yackley ran the offense with 58 assists in the win and added 14 digs and two aces.
Cassidy Lustig (Ashland, WI/Ashland HS) contributed 18 digs, while Ziegler (15 digs),
Lauren Kahl (Ridgeland, WI/Prairie Farm HS) (14), and Decker (7) helped anchor the Saints' defense, which finished with 79 digs and 13 total blocks.
Across the two matches, Baribeau led the Saints with 32 kills and 12 blocks, while
Swangstue posted 29 kills. Yackley handed out 104 assists on the day, and Ziegler finished with 41 digs to pace the back row.
With the two victories, St. Scholastica improves to 6-3 on the season, closing the weekend on a strong note with momentum heading into the Stinger Classic next weekend at UW-Superior. The Saints open up with UW-Stout on Friday, September 19th at 5pm.
