ST. PAUL, MINN. – All season long, the St. Catherine University volleyball team battled and pushed the top teams in the region and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), resulting in a compelling 2017 for Wildcat volleyball fans. While the team ended the season with a somewhat disappointing 9-16 overall record and a 1-10 mark in MIAC play, St. Kate's volleyball team had plenty to be proud of at the conclusion of the year. The Wildcats consistency showed resiliency, grit and growth during the 2017 season, leaving fans and Head Coach Todd Nelson with plenty to be excited about for the upcoming years.
Take a look at the season and individual highlights from the 2017 volleyball season:
Season Highlights:
Virginia Wesleyan Tournament (Sept. 1-3): St. Kate's went 2-2 in its season opening tournament in Norfolk, Virginia. The Wildcats opened the season with back-to-back 3-0 losses to host Virigina Wesleyan and Randolph-Macon before rebounding with two 3-1 wins over Marymount and Goucher. Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Totino-Grace) recorded a career-high 12 kills in the 3-1 win over Goucher, a match that featured 16 St. Kate's aces.
St. Kate's vs. Martin Luther (Sept. 6): The good times continued to roll for the Wildcats in their home opener against Martin Luther College on September 6. St. Kate's dominated in every facet of the game against the Knights to record its third consecutive win. The Wildcats also recorded their third straight match with 10 or more aces and hit .442 as a team, their highest total of the season to date.
Macalester Invite (Sept. 8-9): Like in Virginia, St. Kate's posted a 2-2 record at the Macalester Invite in mid-September. The Wildcats played some of their best volleyball of the season in the opening matches of the tournament but were unable to leave with victories, falling to UW-River Falls and Linfield 3-1. Payton Baker (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) had a career day for St. Kate's defensively in both matches, as she tallied a career-high 22 digs against both the Falcons and Linfield.
Things went much better for the Wildcats on the second day of the tournament, as they defeated both UW-Superior and Knox in resounding fashion. After dropping the opening set 25-22, St. Kate's bounced back for a 25-23 second set victory and took a 2-1 lead with a 25-16 third set win. However, the fourth set proved to be the most interesting of all, as the Wildcats won 27-25 thanks to a kill from Hannah Flatness (Elk Mound, Wis. / Elk Mound) and an ace from Larissa Kisch (Oakdale, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall). Sophomore setter Meagan Schwarzrock (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) finished the match with a career and season-high 25 assists and 24 digs, while Bailey Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) was just behind her with a season high 21 digs.
St. Kate's cruised to a 3-0 victory in the second match of the day against Knox College. The Wildcats outhit the Prairie Fire 48-21, thanks to Emily Carman (Maple Grove, Minn. / Osseo) and Mackenzie Peper's (Osceola, Wis. / Osceola) 12 individual kills. Peper was named to the All-Tournament team.
Coe Triangular (Sept. 16): St. Kate's had quite a bit of success at the Coe Triangular, which featured the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (IIAC) Coe College and California's Occident College. Although the Wildcats went 1-1 in their two matches, they showed determination and grit and earned their first five-set win of the season over Occidental. After falling behind 2-0, St. Kate's had to battle back in its match against the Tigers, winning the final three sets to win the match 3-2 (21-25, 16-25, 25-18, 25-21, 17-15). The Wildcats also pushed host Coe to four sets before falling 3-1 (16-25, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25) in the second match of the day. St. Kate's was an even 6-6 on the season after the Triangular.
St. Kate's @ Bethel (Sept. 20): The Wildcats weren't quite able to grab their first conference win of the season in a 3-1 (9-25, 25-18, 22-25, 18-25) loss to the Royals, but they showed their potential and resiliency in a match against one of the top teams in the MIAC. After suffering a tough 25-9 loss in the first set, St. Kate's rebounded in a big way by winning the second 25-18. Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Totino-Grace) was a huge offensive weapon for the Wildcats in the second set, with four kills and zero errors on seven attempts. However, St. Kate's dominated from behind the end line in the second set, as the team's serves forced the Bethel offense out of system. In fact, the Royals only hit .077 as a team in the second set compared to their .407 average in the first, which helped the Wildcats take the set 25-18. Unfortunately, St. Kate's couldn't find the magic in the third and fourth sets, falling 22-25 and 18-25.
St. Kate's vs. Saint Mary's (Sept. 23): The Wildcats once again were unable to win their first MIAC match of the season, but they played what was arguably their best match of 2017 in a 3-2 (23-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-18, 12-15) loss to Saint Mary's. In fact, St. Kate's outplayed the Cardinals in every facet of the game in the five-setter and dominated from behind the end line and at the net. The Wildcats tallied nine aces and a season-high 14 blocks in the match, led by sophomore middle blocker Kelly Breuer (St. Paul, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran), who tallied four aces and seven blocks respectively.
St. Kate's fell behind early in the match, as Saint Mary's won the first two sets 25-23 and 25-18. However, the Wildcats rebounded in a big way once again by winning the third set 25-21 and forcing a decisive fifth set with a 25-18 fourth set victory. With the momentum on its side, St. Kate's jumped ahead 5-1 in the final set of the match, but the Cardinals were able to creep back in and eventually take the lead on a controversial lift before taking, what seemed to be a decisive 13-8 lead. However, the Wildcats weren't down for the count yet. After Saint Mary's went up 14-10, St. Kate's scored back-to-back points to cut the lead to 14-12. Unfortunately, Saint Mary's won the next point, winning the set 15-12 and the match 3-2 (23-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-18, 12-15).
St. Kate's @ Macalester (Octo. 7): After battling with the top-6 teams in the MIAC, St. Kate's finally nabbed its first conference win of the season in early October. The Wildcats did not drop a single set en route to a 3-0 victory over Macalester College, which additionally was their second-consecutive win after a 3-0 sweep of Crown College the night before. St. Kate's outhit the Scots in every way during the match, compiling 36 kills and a .208 hitting percentage in the victory. The Wildcats also compiled 34 assists, 49 digs and nine blocks en route to its second sweep of the weekend.
Despite the final score, St. Kate's had to earn its first MIAC win of the season and battled for every single point in the opening 25-23 first set victory. In fact, the Scots led by as many as four points, including a 17-13 advantage in the latter stages of the set. However, the Wildcats certainly weren't out of the set, especially with some of the top servers in the conference set to serve the upcoming points. St. Kate's serve put the team right back in the match and eventually helped the team win 25-23. The Wildcats went on the win the match 3-0 (25-23, 25-25-15, 25-18).
St. Kate's vs. Northland (Oct. 13): Win No. 9 of the season was St. Kate's most dominant win of the season. The curse of Jason certainly didn't plague the Wildcats in its 3-0 (25-8, 25-22, 25-16) sweep of Northland College on Friday the 13th. St. Kate's dominated in the opening set and at one point led the Lumber Jills 19-5 before going on to win by a final score of 25-8. The Wildcats were just as dominant in the ensuing second and third sets, as they defeated Northland 25-22 and 25-16. Overall, St. Kate's hit .185 as a team during the set thanks to 35 kills and just 15 errors while holding the Lumber Jills to a -.031 hitting percentage. The Wildcats also amassed 12 aces, their second highest total of the 2017 season.
St. Kate's vs. St. Thomas (Oct. 28): St. Kate's saved its best match for last and sent off senior Bailey Auseth (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) and Emily Neumann (Duluth, Minn. / Hutchinson) in the best way possible. While the Wildcats weren't able to upset the MIAC Regular Season Champion, the University of St. Thomas, in their final match of the season, St. Kate's did play one of its best matches of the season. The Wildcats took a set of the MIAC regular season champs and nearly took a second in its 3-1 (15-25, 16-25, 25-16, 18-25) loss to the Tommies. Neumann tallied a season high 22 assists in the loss, while Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Totino-Grace) and Payton Baker (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) both recorded double digit kills for St. Kate's, with 11 and 10 kills in the match respectively.
Personal Highlights:
Senior setter Emily Neumann (Duluth, Minn. / Hermantown) was named to the MIAC's All-Sportsmanship team at the end of the season. She also moved to No. 11 in career assists, having amassed 515 total during her three-year career with the Wildcats.
Sophomore middle blocker Kelly Breuer (St. Paul, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) led the MIAC in aces per set for the majority of the season and ended the year with 36 total aces, averaging .42 a set. The sophomore was also an outstanding offensive threat for the Wildcats, and was ranked in the top-5 in the MIAC in blocks during the season. Against conference opponents, Breuer recorded three solo blocks and 31 block assists, which ranked fourth in the MIAC. Her 35 total blocks against conference opponents was the fifth-highest among active players.
Speaking of serving, St. Kate's was one of the top-3 serving teams in the MIAC, as it finished the season with 171 aces and averaged 1.91 aces/set during the year. The Wildcats recorded six 10+ ace performances during the year.
After just one season with the program, Meagan Schwarzrock (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) has already cemented her place in St. Kate's record books. The setter set a total of 422 aces during the 2017 season, which stands No. 14 all time in program history.
Junior right side hitter Mackenzie Peper (Osceola, Wis. / Osceola) was the Wildcats top offensive weapon during the 2017 season. Peper led St. Kate's in multiple statistical categories, including hitting percentage (.288), kills (225), total attack attempts (644) and kills/set average (2.53). She is No. 12 all-time in career kills (504).
Along with Peper, Larissa Kisch (Oakdale, Minn. / Cretin Derham-Hall) played in all but one set for the Wildcats this season. The sophomore impressed in her first year as a defensive specialist/libero for St. Kate's, as she led the team in digs (324) and digs per set average (3.64) after spending her freshman year as one of the Wildcats top setters.
Bailey Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) ranked in the top-20 in the MIAC in digs (192) at the end of the regular season despite playing just three rotations in the back row. The senior defensive specialist played only three rotations in the back row, resulting in less chances and opportunities to amass digs during a match. She ends her career with 433 total digs.
Emma Nelson (Byron, Minn. / Byron) made a significant impact in her sophomore season with the Wildcats. As an outside hitter, Nelson set new career highs in both kills (12 vs. Carleton) and digs (20 vs. UW-Superior) and was a regular starter by the end of 2017.
High school teammates Brooke Beuning (New London, Minn. / New London-Spicer) and Erin Tebben (New London, Minn. / New London-Spicer) provided big sparks for St. Kate's off the bench during the 2017 season. Beuning, a first year setter, appeared in 12 matches for the Wildcats during the regular season and tallied 72 assists during the year, including a career high 22 in a 3-0 loss to Concordia-Moorhead. As a first year middle hitter, Tebben also impressed during 2017, as she appeared in 15 matches and tallied 23 kills.
Bailey Brownlee (Buffalo, Minn. / Buffalo), Kaylie Paitl (Braham, Minn. / Braham) and Victoria Sweely (Fernando, Minn. / G.F.W.) additionally impacted St. Kate's volleyball team during the 2017 season. Brownlee opened the season as a starting defensive specialist and racked up 84 digs and 20 kills in 2017.
