10/14/06

Head coach Dana Moore could just feel it. The league-leading Knights from Martin Luther were not at the peak of their game, she thought. Still the top team in the conference, but maybe ready for an upset.

But the Saints, too, were dealing with their own issues after losing two players to injury on Friday evening in a win at Bethany Lutheran.

The team not only had to battle the top team in the conference Saturday afternoon but also the emotions of seeing fallen teammates from the previous day, as well as the stress from their come-from-behind five-game victory that was most assuredly adrenaline-driven.

The cards simply wouldn't fall right for the Saints, though.

They had more blocks (19) than the host Knights (16), recording their second-highest total this season. They had fewer attacking errors, more set assists, and more service aces. What they didn't have, or didn't get, was a let down by Martin Luther, especially defensively.

The hosts seemed to pick up everything the Saints put down, totaling an amazing 123 defensive digs. A kitchen sink was supposedly seen airborne at one point.

Though three Saints reached double-figures in kills -- Erin Niles with 14, Amy Thompson's 12, and Shawna Varichak's 11 -- for the match, it just wasn't enough as St. Scholastica fell in four games to the conference leaders.

Niles led all players in the match with 6.0 blocks, and teammate LeAnn Berscheit finished with 5.5. Alissa Johnson who played the full rotation into the back row with the Friday injury to Rebecca Udermann had a career high 15 defensive digs in the match while Megan Baartman, stepping into the setter's role for injured league-leader Katie Berscheit, had 49 set assists, tops in the match.