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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Ashlee Bayer
Jade Jensen

Volleyball Bryce Harp

Yellowjackets Struggles Continue

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

The Yellowjacket volleyball team have hit a bit of a rough patch since having their four game winning streak snapped by Gustavus Adolphus last Saturday. They appeared to have righted the ship in their first match Friday against Macalester, only to fall at the hands of Luther.

Saturday was a new day and the Yellowjackets were looking to get back on the winning track for day two of the St. Kate's Invite. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as the Yellowjackets dropped a pair to Wartburg College and tournament host St. Catherine University.

Wartburg 3, Yellowjackets 0

The Yellowjackets started out day two of the tournament by taking on a very tough, very talented Wartburg team that had only lost three matches all year.

The first set did not go the way the Yellowjackets would have liked, as Wartburg jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. The Yellowjackets were never closer than three the rest of the way as Wartburg took the set 25-12.

Wartburg led wire-to-wire in the second set as they jumped to an early 7-3 lead. The Yellowjackets were able to battle back to within one when an Emily VerWay (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) service ace cut the Wartburg lead to 9-8. That was the closest that the Yellowjackets would get as Wartburg went on to take the set 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set once again saw Wartburg lead wire-to-wire as they took an early 8-2 lead. Three times the Yellowjackets were able to come within three points of Wartburg, but in the end they proved to be too much. Wartburg took the final set 25-16 and the match 3-0.

Stephanie Bandelin (Esko, Minn./Esko), Ashlee Bayer (Cameron, Wis./Cameron), and Leah Nightingale (Dayton, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) had six kills apiece to lead the Yellowjackets. Nightingale had an attack percentage of .750 in the match which led all Yellowjackets, while Bayer had three blocks.

Karlie Leif (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) led the Yellowjackets defensively with seven digs. Emily VerWay (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) continued her strong freshman season with 25 set assists.

St. Catherine 3, Yellowjackets 1

The second match of the day saw the Yellowjackets face off against tournament hosts St. Catherine, as the Yellowjackets looked to end the tournament on a high note.

The first set did not start out the way that the Yellowjackets would have like, as St. Catherine jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on three Yellowjacket errors. This early lead did not deter the Yellowjackets as they fought their way back to take a 9-8 lead. The two teams began to battle it out at this point, with the lead changing hands three times. The Yellowjackets used a Leah Nightingale (Dayton, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) kill to tie the score up at 16-16. St. Catherine went on a run to build a 23-18 lead, but once again the Yellowjackets fought back to make it a one point game off of a Nightingale kill. St. Catherine, leading 24-23 at that point, finished off the set with a kill to go up 1-0.

The second set saw St. Catherine jump out to an early 5-2 lead only for the Yellowjackets to fight back to take a 10-8 lead off of a Bandelin kill. St. Catherine went on another run at that point to build a 15-12 lead, but once again the Yellowjackets fought their way back to tie the set up at 16-16. That was all the Yellowjackets could muster as St. Catherine went on a run to take the set 25-19 and go up 2-0.

The third set started out as even as they come; with both teams exchanging points on their way to a 9-9 tie. It was at this point the Yellowjackets took control of the set. Behind the serve of Katie Boone (Mindoro, Wis./Melrose-Mindoro), the Yellowjackets went on an 8-0 run to build a 20-11 lead. St. Catherine fought back within two points, but Bailey Romans (Duluth, Minn./East) was able to put the finishing touch on the set with a kill on the final point to give the Yellowjackets a 25-22 set victory.

The momentum from the third set victory carried over to the fourth set, as the Yellowjackets took an early 7-2 lead. Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, St. Catherine was able to retake the momentum, erasing the deficit and building an insurmountable lead en route to winning the set 25-21 and the match 3-1.
Bayer paced the Yellowjackets offensively in the match with 14 kills. Romans was not far behind with 13 kills of her own. VerWay had 35 set assists and 14 digs, while Leif had 15 digs to lead the Yellowjackets.

The Yellowjackets were able to get solid contributions out of some of their reserve players this match. Gabrielle Olson (Menomonie, Wis./Menomonie) led the team in blocks with three while also adding five kills. Boone had her best defensive game of the year with 10 digs, while Nightingale had eight kills as all three of them played in all four sets in the final match.

Next up for the Yellowjackets (16-12, 4-1 UMAC) is a trip back to St. Paul, Minn. Wednesday, October 21 to take on UMAC foe University of Northwestern. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
 
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Players Mentioned

Stephanie Bandelin

#16 Stephanie Bandelin

OH
6' 0"
Senior
Leah Nightingale

#22 Leah Nightingale

OH
5' 9"
Sophomore
Emily VerWay

#1 Emily VerWay

S
5' 7"
Freshman
Karlie Leif

#3 Karlie Leif

DS
5' 6"
Freshman
Bailey Romans

#11 Bailey Romans

RSH
6' 4"
Freshman
Ashlee Bayer

#18 Ashlee Bayer

MH
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Stephanie Bandelin

#16 Stephanie Bandelin

6' 0"
Senior
OH
Leah Nightingale

#22 Leah Nightingale

5' 9"
Sophomore
OH
Emily VerWay

#1 Emily VerWay

5' 7"
Freshman
S
Karlie Leif

#3 Karlie Leif

5' 6"
Freshman
DS
Bailey Romans

#11 Bailey Romans

6' 4"
Freshman
RSH
Ashlee Bayer

#18 Ashlee Bayer

5' 10"
Freshman
MH