After winning both opening matches of its weekend tournaemnt Friday night, the St. Catherine University volleyball team hit a light speed bump in falling 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-21) to No. 21 host University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before recoving with a solid 3-1 (21-25, 25-9, 25-22, 25-12) win over Wisconsin Lutheran College to finish the weekend 3-1 Saturday morning in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

"We started out slow and struggled finishing in sets two and three (against UW-Oshkosh)," said Head Coach Corey Phelps. "We dropped the first set to Wisconsin Lutheran, but rebounded nicely to take the next three. This was another good weekend for us. We need to work hard to prepare for our match on Wednesday." 

The Wildcats received solid performances in both matches from senior Amber Zeiher (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) and first-year Payton Baker (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake). Zeiher led the Wildcats in the opener with 11 kills and two blocks before following up with three kills and seven blocks in the win over Wisconsin Lutheran to pass the 200-career block mark (206). Baker continued her strong start to her rookie season with 21 kills on the day. 

Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn./Anoka) played a strong role offensively and defensively in both matches for the Wildcats. She tallied 14 kills on the day and had 13 digs in the loss to UW-Oshkosh and 12 in the second-match victory. Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) also added 12 kills and two blocks. Zoe Barr (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) was also solid in the victory with a career-high and team-high 13 kills. 

Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson) again anchored the Wildcats defensive effort with 25 digs against UW-Oshkosh and 28 in the win over Wisconsin Lutheran, while Hayley Levenhagen (Pewaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) set up the offense with 21 assists in the opener and 31 in the victory. Maria Davis (West St. Paul, Minn./St. Agnes) also contributed solidly with 20 assists and 12 digs on the day. 

Zeiher was the Wildcats' representative on the all-touranment team after finishing the weekend with 27 kills, 16 blocks and 10 digs.

The Wildcats take a short break from tournament action to begin conference play Wednesday as they head to Saint Mary's University for a 7 p.m. match in Winona, Minnesota. 

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