WINONA, Minn.: Friday marked the season opener for the Yellowjacket volleyball team, as they competed in day one of the Sugar Loaf Classic, hosted by Saint Mary's University. The Yellowjackets tangled with the hosts in their first match of the season, followed by a neutral-site match with Luther College of Decorah, Iowa.
 
Saint Mary's 3, Yellowjackets 2
A season ago, the Yellowjackets had a propensity for playing matches that went five sets, so it's only fitting they opened the 2019 season by going the distance. Unfortunately, the hole they dug themselves was too deep and they fell to Saint Mary's.

The Cardinals built and early lead, taking the opening set 25-21 and the second by a more convincing 25-9 score. The Yellowjackets came alive in the third set to cut the Saint Mary's lead in half.
 
The teams went back and forth before the Cardinals moved ahead by five at 13-8. The Yellowjackets came roaring back, taking a 14-13 lead on a kill by A.J. Runck (Annandale, Minn./Apple Valley). The teams would trade points before Runck came through with another kill, breaking a 16-16 tie and giving the Yellowjackets the lead for good. A pair of Saint Mary's errors would close the set, a 25-22 Yellowjacket win.
 
The fourth set offered more of the same with teams trading points in the early going. A Cassy Teff (Foley, Minn./Foley) service ace gave the Yellowjackets a 10-9 lead and consecutive kills by Brylee Colligan (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) and Gina Baertsch (Farmington, Minn./Farmington Area) extended the lead to 12-10. That would be more than enough and the Yellowjackets cruised to a 25-21 win, evening the match at two sets apiece.
 
In the fifth set, Saint Mary's jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, and the margin proved to be insurmountable. The Cardinals would win eight of the final ten points to take the set 15-6 and the match 3-2.
 
Cami Sletta (Willmar, Minn./Willmar Senior), who earned All-UMAC honors last season, got her season started in fine style with 16 kills to lead the Yellowjackets, who attacked at a .205 clip. Teff was the only other Yellowjacket to reach double figure kills, coming in with 11. Teff also paced the Yellowjackets with 22 assists. Defensively Hailey Atwood (Big Lake, Minn./Big Lake) led the Yellowjackets with 20 digs while Sletta and Runck had three blocks apiece.
 
Luther 3, Yellowjackets 1
In the second match, the Yellowjackets again fell behind early, dropping the opening set to Luther 25-21. The second set went back and forth with neither team able to build a lead of more than a point early. That changed when Luther opened up a 13-10 lead.
 
But like they did in the first match of the day, the Yellowjackets came roaring back. A kill by Teff evened things at 13-13 and a pair of Luther errors gave the Yellowjackets the lead at 15-13. With Hannah Goggleye (Calumet, Minn./Greenway) on the serve, the Yellowjackets built up a six-point cushion, and later a Megan Holz (Savage, Minn./Burnsville) ace ended the set, giving the 'Jackets a 25-18 win and evening the match at a set apiece.
 
Luther took the early lead in the third set, but it evaporated and, again with Goggleye serving, the Yellowjackets went on a run to push ahead 10-6. The lead would reach 14-8 on an ace by Teff, but a 9-0 run by Luther forced the Yellowjackets to once again battle from behind. A Sletta kill tied the set at 18-18 and two points later a kill by Goggleye put the Yellowjackets in front. The lead would balloon to 24-21, but Luther rallied, fending off three set points to even the score before taking the final two points, winning the set 27-25.
 
The Yellowjackets jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set, and gained a little separation from Luther on a five-point run to lead 15-11. Sletta had a pair of kills and Atwood had an ace during the run. Luther would have an answer, though, winning nine straight points to take a 20-15 lead. The Yellowjackets would get it back to within a pair at 21-19, but that's as close as they'd get and Luther took the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.
 
Teff had another strong match, leading the Yellowjackets with 11 kills to go along with 17 assists and 13 digs. Goggleye was the other Yellowjacket with double-digit kills, registering 10. Holz led the Yellowjackets with 18 assists and added a pair of aces. Atwood had four aces and 15 digs, both team leading.
 
The Yellowjackets will take on Macalester College and the University of Dubuque on day two of the Sugar Loaf Classic Saturday. Matches are set for 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.