09/30/06

After dropping their opening matches against Martin Luther and Bethany Lutheran, the Saints defeated UM-Morris and Presentation in their second pair of matches at the 2006 UMAC Crossover Weekend in Aberdeen, S.D.

In their first UMAC competition of the 2006 season, the Saints opened against the preseason #1 and #2 teams in Bethany Lutheran and Martin Luther.

Despite bringing a 3-2 record in five-game matches to the contest, the Saints fell in five games to Martin Luther to open the crossover. The Knights took the first two games 30-18 and 31-29 but the Saints won the third and fourth 30-24 and 30-22, respectively. However, Martin Luther won the fifth game 19-17 to take the match.

St. Scholastica faced Bethany Lutheran in the second match of the crossover, again dropping the first two games. The Saints won the third game 30-28 before falling in the fourth game 23-30.

The Saints looked to improve on their 0-2 start to UMAC play in Saturday’s matches against UM-Morris and host team Presentation. And improve they did as they evened their conference record to 2-2 by downing both teams 3-0.

Against the Cougars, Amy Thompson led the Saints with 18 kills and just two errors on 31 attempts. Fellow sophomore Shawna Varichak added 14 kills. Meanwhile, junior Diana Moody had 24 digs.

The final match of the crossover saw the Saints dominate Presentation, winning 30-19, 30-22 and 30-21. Varichak and Thompson again led the attack as the lone Saints in double figures for kills. Thompson also had 12 digs to lead the Saints while first year Cassie Roden added 11.

Through the crossover, setter Kati Berscheit recorded 179 set assists. Moody totaled 69 digs in the four matches while Thompson and Roden each added 43 digs. Varichak and Thompson combined for 116 kills.

The 2-2 split in UMAC play moved the Saints to 11-10 overall. Next up for St. Scholastica is a home match with UW-Superior in the Reif Center. The Saints resume conference action against Crown College and Northwestern College at home next weekend.