SUPERIOR, Wis. - The St. Scholastica volleyball team came up just short Friday night, falling 3-1 to Wisconsin-Stout in a neutral-site matchup at Mertz Mortorelli Gym. The Saints (6-4) pushed the Blue Devils in every set, but dropped the match by scores of 24-26, 22-25, 25-15, and 23-25.
The Saints were strong offensively, totaling 57 kills compared to Stout's 53.
Mikala Peterson (Mora, MN/Mora HS) led the attack with an efficient .560 hitting percentage on 14 kills, while
Lindsey Baribeau (Biwabik, MN/Mesabi East HS) matched her with 14 kills of her own. Setter
Natalie Yackley (New Ulm, MN/New Ulm HS) directed the offense with 42 assists and added nine digs and two blocks.
Defensively, St. Scholastica put up 72 digs, led by
Bryn Ziegler's (Hutchinson, MN/Hutchinson HS) 19 and
Cassidy Lustig's (Ashland, WI/Ashland HS) 15. Lustig also contributed six kills, a service ace, and a block.
Ava Swangstue (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River HS) chipped in nine kills and four digs, while
Abby Zins (Chisago Lakes, MN/Chisago Lakes High School) tallied 11 kills and three digs.
The Saints' best set came in the third, where they dominated 25-15 behind a .424 hitting percentage. However, Stout rallied to close out the fourth set in a nail-biter, 25-23.
St. Scholastica finished the night with a .188 team hitting percentage while holding the Blue Devils to .169.
The Saints return in action tomorrow at the Stinger Classic as they play Knox College at 12:00pm and follow that up with host UW-Superior at 2:00pm.
