ST. PAUL, Minn. — The St. Catherine University volleyball team bounced back from an opening-set loss to defeat Macalester College in four sets Wednesday night at the Leonard Center, earning a 23-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-14 MIAC victory. The win improved the Wildcats to 4-13 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
Macalester took the opening set 25-23, but St. Kate's quickly responded in the second. The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind a strong serving run from Alexa Carlstrom, who recorded two aces during the stretch. St. Catherine maintained control from there, closing out the frame 25-15 to even the match.
The third set was tightly contested through the middle stages, with the teams tied at 20-20. St. Kate's then scored the final five points of the set, getting a kill from Maddie Newton, a kill from Addison Vandereide and forcing three Macalester errors to take the frame 25-20 and move ahead 2-1.
The Wildcats carried that momentum into the fourth. St. Catherine built an early advantage and pulled away behind a balanced attack, extending the lead to 20-11 before finishing off the match 25-14. Alivia Hanover provided multiple kills during the closing stretch, while Vandereide delivered the final kill of the night.
Hanover led an efficient Wildcat attack, finishing with 12 kills on just 21 attempts with one error for a .524 hitting percentage. She also added four block assists. Newton and Vandereide each added 12 kills, while Marta Haugen finished with 11.
St. Kate's received contributions from multiple setters, led by Jalyn Wolle with 22 assists and Lauren Dallas with 16. Maneeje Mostaghimi paced the defense with 16 digs, Carlstrom added 11 digs and two aces, and Dallas chipped in nine digs. Emma Nordeen led the Wildcats at the net with five total blocks.
As a team, St. Catherine finished with 53 kills while hitting .213, including a .303 mark in the fourth set. The Wildcats also totaled 70 digs and eight team blocks while holding Macalester to a .055 hitting percentage.
Up Next: St. Catherine returns home Saturday, October 10, for Alumnae Day against the College of Saint Benedict. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.
