SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Yellowjacket volleyball team took a breather from Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action Friday, taking on St. Scholastica in a non-conference matchup. Entering Friday the Saints were carrying a two-match losing streak, while the 'Jackets were riding a three-match winning streak.
 
The first meeting between these squads in the 2024 campaign came in the Subway Stinger Classic, seeing the Saints earn a 3-1 victory to round out the tournament. With Friday serving as the Yellowjackets' Dig Pink match, Mertz Mortorelli Gym was packed with fans dressed in pink and anticipating another memorable bridge-battle contest.
 
St. Scholastica came out firing in the first set hoping to gain the early advantage, but a Yellowjacket rally thwarted the Saints' efforts. After all was said and done the 'Jackets would go on to sweep CSS 3-0, evening the historical series at 26-26.
 
Match Notes

• UWS leaped to an early 6-2 lead after Sydney Smith (Milltown, Wis./Unity) and Ayla Oltmanns (Gilbert, Minn./Duluth East) logged their first kills of the evening. They would hold onto the lead midway through the set, but the 'Jacket lead dwindled with a combination of errors and Saints kills.
• After CSS came within one at 13-12, Smith logged another kill after taking a feed from Colleen Claude (Centuria, Wis./Homeschool). Both teams exchanged points, which included Gabi Schwirtz (Plato, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake) setting Makenna Hohbein (Holdingford, Minn./Holdingford) up for a kill, giving the Yellowjackets a 20-18 advantage, but CSS took the lead with four consecutive kills.
• The Saints were one point away from taking the first set after a kill from Lindsey Baribeau brought CSS to a 24-22 lead, but Stark and Addy Gangl (Nashwauk, Minn./Nashwauk-Keewatin) pushed through to give the Yellowjackets a 26-24 victory in the opening set.
• St. Scholastica just couldn't find a groove in the second set. UWS gained a 6-1 lead on a combination of Saints' miscues and Yellowjacket kills. The Saints would come within three after a bad set from UWS, but Hohbein and Marena Saeger (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) helped push their squad to an eventual four-point rally.
• Leading 18-10, UW-Superior pushed through the remainder of the set with a commanding lead. Jenna Anderson (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) logged a service ace at 21-10 before Gangl provided a pair of kills, leading to an ace from Savanna Hering (Superior, Wis./Superior) and a Saeger kill to shut the door 25-13.
• The Saints kept things within reach at the start of the third, staying at least three points away from the Yellowjackets. Back-to-back attack errors saw UWS gain an 11-7 lead before two consecutive service aces from the Saints brought them within one at 11-10.
• Stark and Gangl helped guide the 'Jackets back on track with a pair of kills, but a trio of Saints kept things interesting. At 19-17 the 'Jackets logged three points to lead 22-17, and from there UWS garnered kills from Oltmanns and Stark to shut the door and earn a 3-0 sweep.
• UWS swung at a .314 clip on the evening, their highest mark of the season to date.
• Stark was the lone Yellowjacket to finish with double-digit kills, adding 11 to her season total of 103.
• Anderson finished her night with 20 digs while adding a service ace, once again leading the Yellowjacket defensive attack.
• Claude and Schwirtz finished with 19 and 18 assists, respectively.
• The Saints were led by Baribeau offensively, while Grace Myhre accumulated 30 assists on the night.

 
The Yellowjackets (17-6, 6-1 UMAC) return to conference play Tuesday, taking on Northland. The opening serve is set for 7 p.m. inside Kendrigan Gymnasium.
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