LINCOLN, Neb. – The College of St. Scholastica volleyball team saw a two-set lead disappear Friday night, but responded when it mattered most, defeating Nebraska Wesleyan University in five sets at Snyder Arena.
The Saints earned the 25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 15-12 victory to improve to 3-2 on the season.
St. Scholastica took control early, using a balanced attack to claim the opening set 25-20. The Saints were even better in the second, hitting .485 with 19 kills and just three errors on 33 attacks to take a commanding 2-0 lead with a 25-17 win.
Nebraska Wesleyan refused to go away. The Prairie Wolves took the third set 25-22 before building a 14-7 advantage in the fourth. CSS battled back, cutting the deficit to 22-20, but Nebraska Wesleyan held on for another 25-22 victory to force a deciding fifth set.
The teams traded points throughout the early portion of the fifth, reaching an 8-8 tie before the Saints made their move. An NWU attack error followed by an Ava Decker (Rochester, MN/Century HS) service ace gave CSS a 10-8 advantage. Abby Zins (Chisago Lakes, MN/Chisago Lakes High School) later pushed the lead to 12-9 with a kill, and Bailey Husbands (Baudette, MN/Lake of the Woods HS) and Tayte Borstad (Duluth, MN/Duluth East HS) added kills down the stretch. With the Saints holding match point at 14-12, Decker put away the final kill to finish the 15-12 win.
Zins led the Saints with 20 kills while hitting .283, with Decker adding 18 kills on a .292 hitting percentage. Borstad finished with 16 kills, while Lilli Rechichi (Ely, MN/Ely Memorial HS) was highly efficient with 10 kills and no errors on 19 attempts for a .526 hitting percentage. Husbands directed the offense with 56 assists and added 23 digs.
Cassidy Lustig (Ashland, WI/Ashland HS) led the defensive effort with 27 digs and also recorded six service aces, while Decker added 15 digs. St. Scholastica finished the match hitting .267 with 66 kills and just 16 attacking errors.
The Saints continue play at the P-Wolf Invite on Saturday with matches against Whitworth University and Gordon College.
