St. Catherine University Athletics

After taking a set from nationally-ranked No. 11 Washington University in St. Louis Friday evening, the St. Catherine University  volleyball team hoped it could continue to play at a high level on the second day of the UW-Whitewater tournament.
 
Despite falling to host No. 18 UW-Whitewater 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-15), the Wildcats were able to recover to finish the day 1-1 after defeating Westminster College (Mo.) 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) Saturday in Whitewater, Wis.
 
"We had another solid day at the tournament," said Head Coach Corey Phelps. "We competed with UW-Whitewater in the first match and played very well in the win against Westminster. It was good to finish with a win at a solid tournament heading into next week's conference matches."
 
Though the Wildcats couldn't find a way to slow down the nationally-ranked Warhawks, several Wildcats had strong performances in both matches.
 
Karsee Knutson (New London, Minn.) continued to steal the spotlight as she dished out a total of 51 assists and 16 digs on the day. Against UW-Whitewater, Knutson was second on the team in digs (8), had 17 assists and added a solo and assisted block. In the Wildcats' impressive win over Westminster, the junior setter tallied 34 assists, two of the team's six aces, another second-best eight digs and a kill.
 
Jana Christensen (North Mankato, Minn.) and Amber Zeiher (LeSueur, Minn.) were a nearly unstoppable combination in the front row for the Wildcats in the win over Westminster.  Christensen led the team with 13 kills and a monster .500 hitting performance, while Zeiher had six kills, a .417 hitting percentage and three block assists.
 
In the first match, Maddy Mullins (Caledonia, Minn.) was the top hitter for the Wildcats with a team-high seven kills, a.333 attacking percentage and a block assist. She then added four kills and three block assists in the win.
 
Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) had another strong day for the Wildcats as she compiled 11 kills, 13 digs and an ace between both matches. The first-year also turned in a .235 hitting performance against the Warhawks.
 
Defensively, Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn.) compiled 19 digs on the day. Marnie Gubash (Blaine, Minn.) also added seven in the Wildcats win.
 
The Wildcats improve to 8-15 on the season and return to conference play next week Friday as they host Saint Mary's University at 7 p.m. in the Butler Center.
 
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