SUPERIOR, Wis. – The College of St. Scholastica volleyball team bounced back from a five-set loss to UW-Superior with a four-set victory over Marian University on Friday at the Stinger Classic inside Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium. The split moved the Saints to 4-5 on the season.
St. Scholastica opened with a 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 17-25, 12-15 loss to the host Yellowjackets before defeating Marian 25-13, 25-17, 18-25, 25-22.
Against UW-Superior, the Saints took two of the first three sets before the Yellowjackets rallied to claim the final two. After winning the opener and narrowly dropping the second set, St. Scholastica regained the advantage with a 25-22 third-set victory. UW-Superior responded with a 25-17 fourth set and edged the Saints 15-12 in the deciding frame.
Ava Decker (Rochester, MN/Century HS) led St. Scholastica with 16 kills and added 17 digs for a double-double. Lilli Rechichi (Ely, MN/Ely Memorial HS) contributed 11 kills and five blocks, while Bailey Husbands (Baudette, MN/Lake of the Woods HS) recorded a double-double with 43 assists and 10 digs, along with five kills and two service aces.
Cassidy Lustig (Ashland, WI/Ashland HS) paced the defense with 28 digs, followed by Lauren Kahl (Ridgeland, WI/Prairie Farm HS) with 19. Bryn Ziegler (Hutchinson, MN/Hutchinson HS) added 10 digs as five Saints reached double figures. Carmen McDonough (Elk River, MN/Spectrum) finished with four blocks, including three solo stops, helping St. Scholastica total 10 team blocks and hold UW-Superior to a .100 hitting percentage.
The Saints responded with a strong start against Marian, recording 15 kills in each of the first two sets. St. Scholastica limited the Sabres to three kills in the opening set and hit .300 in the second to build a 2-0 advantage. Marian extended the match with a third-set victory, but the Saints closed out the win with a 25-22 fourth set.
Decker and Rechichi shared the team lead with 11 kills apiece, while Tayte Borstad (Duluth, MN/Duluth East HS) added 10. McDonough supplied nine kills on a .348 hitting percentage and contributed five blocks. Decker also collected 10 digs for her second double-double of the day.
Husbands distributed 42 assists, bringing her two-match total to 85. Lustig anchored the back row with 23 digs, finishing the day with 51, while Kahl added 15 digs and three service aces. The Saints finished with seven aces and a .179 hitting percentage while holding Marian to .128.
St. Scholastica concludes the Stinger Classic on Saturday, Sept. 19, with matches against UW-River Falls at noon and UW-La Crosse at 2 p.m. in Superior.
