WINONA, Minn. – The College of St. Scholastica volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday at Saint Mary's University, falling in a five-set battle with the University of Minnesota Morris before bouncing back with a four-set victory over Crown College. The Saints move to 2-1 on the young season.
Minnesota Morris 3, St. Scholastica 2
The Saints opened the day by taking the first two sets against Minnesota Morris, but the Cougars rallied to earn a 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 16-14 victory.
St. Scholastica came out strong offensively, hitting .278 in the opening set and .316 in the second to build a 2-0 advantage. Morris answered by taking the next two frames, sending the match to a deciding fifth set.
The finale remained tight throughout, but the Cougars edged the Saints 16-14 to complete the comeback.
Abby Zins (Chisago Lakes, MN/Chisago Lakes High School) led a productive St. Scholastica attack with 20 kills while hitting .415. Tayte Borstad (Duluth, MN/Duluth East HS) added 16 kills at a .293 clip, while Lilli Rechichi (Ely, MN/Ely Memorial HS) recorded 11 kills. Sophia Alkhatib (Lindstrom, MN/Chisago Lakes HS) contributed eight kills and three solo blocks. Bailey Husbands (Baudette, MN/Lake of the Woods HS) directed the offense with 60 assists.
Defensively, Ava Decker (Rochester, MN/Century HS) collected 20 digs, Cassidy Lustig (Ashland, WI/Ashland HS) finished with 19 and Lauren Kahl (Ridgeland, WI/Prairie Farm HS) added 17. The Saints totaled 68 kills in the match.
St. Scholastica 3, Crown 1
The Saints responded later in the day with a 25-23, 25-21, 16-25, 25-14 victory over Crown.
St. Scholastica grabbed control by winning each of the first two sets before Crown extended the match with a third-set victory. The Saints answered emphatically in the fourth, hitting .341 with 17 kills and just three errors to close out the match.
Borstad paced the Saints with 12 kills and a .314 hitting percentage. Rechichi finished with 11 kills while hitting .286, while Grace Sandmeyer (Lake Crystal, MN/Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial) added 10 kills on a .250 clip. Zins chipped in nine kills.
Husbands handed out 38 assists, while Lustig led the back row with 20 digs. Kahl added 17 digs, and the Saints held Crown to a .117 hitting percentage for the match.
The split moves St. Scholastica to 2-1 on the season.
