DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica volleyball team gave its homecoming crowd a five-set victory Friday night, defeating Concordia-Moorhead 3-2 at Reif Gymnasium to earn its first MIAC win of the season.
The Saints prevailed by scores of 16-25, 25-9, 25-21, 17-25 and 15-10, improving to 6-14 overall and 1-6 in conference play. Concordia dropped to 10-11 overall and 3-4 in the MIAC.
Tayte Borstad (Duluth, MN/Duluth East HS) led St. Scholastica with 13 kills, followed by Abby Zins (Chisago Lakes, MN/Chisago Lakes High School) with 12 and Lilli Rechichi (Ely, MN/Ely Memorial HS) with 10. Bailey Husbands (Baudette, MN/Lake of the Woods HS) recorded a double-double with 41 assists and a team-high 18 digs, while Cassidy Lustig (Ashland, WI/Ashland HS) contributed five service aces and 13 digs. Lauren Kahl (Ridgeland, WI/Prairie Farm HS) added 12 digs.
After dropping the opening set, CSS responded with its strongest offensive frame of the evening. The Saints hit .231 with 11 kills and just two attack errors in the second set, building an 18-5 advantage before scoring the final six points to finish a commanding 25-9 victory.
The third set required a late comeback. Trailing 20-18, St. Scholastica received consecutive kills from Madalyn Niemala (Bigfork, MN/Bigfork HS) to pull even. Concordia regained a 21-20 lead, but a Borstad kill started a five-point closing run. Lustig added an ace during the stretch as CSS secured the set 25-21 and moved ahead 2-1.
Concordia answered with a 25-17 fourth-set win to force a deciding fifth, where the Saints took control early. Down 3-2, CSS scored five straight points behind two kills from Ava Decker (Rochester, MN/Century HS), a Rechichi kill and two Lustig aces to take a 7-3 lead.
The Saints later stretched their advantage to 12-6. Zins supplied three kills down the stretch, and Borstad delivered the final kill to seal the 15-10 victory and the homecoming celebration.
Borstad and Rechichi each finished with three total blocks. Concordia was led by Annie Horan with 15 kills and Kacey Fischer with 11.
St. Scholastica returns to conference action Saturday, Oct. 24, at Saint Mary's in Winona. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.
