WINONA, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team split its two matches for the second day in a row at the Sugar Loaf Classic on Saturday. The Cougars downed Carleton College in three sets in the morning, but Saint Mary's University was able to defend its home court with a come-from-behind five-set win in the afternoon. UMN Morris moves to 2-2 on the season with the two results.

Non-conference play continues on Wednesday evening with a trip to Bethel University for a match starting at 7 p.m.

Minnesota Morris 3, Carleton 0
(25-20, 25-23, 26-24)
The day began on a high note for the Cougars with a hard-fought victory over Carleton. Laura Wellbrock had a match-high 13 kills to lead the UMN Morris offense.

Trailing early on in the first set, Minnesota Morris had a pair of six-point runs to go on top and claim what turned out to be the largest winning margin of the match, 25-20.

The Cougars seemed to be cruising to a fairly easy win in the second set, holding a 19-13 lead on Carleton before the Knights scored eight of the next nine points to take a 21-20 advantage. Carleton maintained a narrow lead, 23-22, until Maggie Jones tied it up and McKenzie Newton gave Minnesota Morris the 24-23 edge. A Carleton attack error finished it off to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the match.

Down by nine points on three occasions including at 18-9, Minnesota Morris stunned Carleton in the third set to finish off the sweep. Wellbrock had a pair of kills in a seven-point swing that brought the Cougars within two. Consecutive kills from Lydia Nash then knotted the score up at 21-21. Tied again at 24-24, Wellbrock gave Minnesota Morris the lead and an attack error on match point from Carleton ended it.

Nash notched eight kills in the match, with six apiece coming from Jones and Anna Molstad. Newton had 26 assists to go along with eight digs. Ava Brunn collected 16 digs in the morning session.

Saint Mary's 3, Minnesota Morris 2
(25-19, 20-25, 25-14, 23-25, 12-15)
There was little to separate the two sides, but Saint Mary's came up with some key plays to close the fourth and fifth sets and earn a five-set victory over the Cougars to wrap up the tournament.

A block and an ace from Jones late in the first set helped Minnesota Morris open up a five-point cushion and take care of business from there for a 25-19 win.

Saint Mary's recorded four of the final five points in the second set to knot the match at 1-1 before the Cougars blew the doors off the Cardinals in the third set. Tied at 6-6, UMN Morris scored 13 of the next 14 points to cruise to the win. Tori Scheler had three kills and a block in that stretch, while Mary Cate Ziembiec added two aces and a kill.

Minnesota Morris led much of the way in the fourth set, but Saint Mary's stayed close and overtook the Cougars at 23-22. Following a kill from Wellbrock that tied the score, the Cardinals tallied the final two points to take the set and force the match to a fifth.

The key stretch in the final set happened early, with Saint Mary's running off four straight to take a 6-2 lead. Though Minnesota Morris would get within two points on four occasions, the Cougars could never fully make up the ground and the Cardinals held on to get the win.

Scheler finished with 12 kills in the match, while Nash had nine and both Wellbrock and Molstad added eight. Newton approached a triple-double with seven kills, 38 assists, and 15 digs. Five players reached double-figures for digs in the match, led by Brunn's 20.