University of Minnesota Morris Athletics

DULUTH, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team fell 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 18-25, 21-25) to the College of St. Scholastica in its final nonconference match Saturday afternoon in Duluth, Minn.
 
Bella Nelson tallied the first Minnesota Morris kill of the match, with Sella Fleming setting her up. Points were traded early, with Natalie Wahl and Braxtyn Meyer adding kills for UMM. As the Saints started to gain separation, Ella Johnson connected on an attack to make it a one-point set. A service ace from Rachel Bopp gave the Cougars the lead at 13-12. The lead grew to three with kills from Wahl and Nelson. CSS would score the next 10 points to reach 23. Wahl, Johnson, and Tori Scheler scored for UMM, but it was not enough as the Saints took set one, 25-19.
 
The first block of the match came on the opening point of set two, with Scheler and Nelson combining on it. Minnesota Morris started to gain separation with the help of a kill from Nelson. Fleming scored on an attack to extend the lead to five. Wahl, Johnson, and Meyer scored three consecutive points to put the Cougars up 12-5. CSS went on a six-point run to pull within two. Johnson ended the run with a kill set up by Fleming. The Saints strung together more points to get within one. Kills from Wahl and Scheler down the stretch gave the Cougars a 25-20 win in set two.
 
Minnesota Morris scored the first three points of set three with a kill from Wahl and a service ace from Fleming. Scheler scored early, but the Saints took their first lead at 6-5. CSS started to pull away, but kills from Scheler and Wahl kept the Cougars within reach. After trailing by six, Nelson and Johnson helped cut the deficit to three with successful attacks. The Saints continued to put together short runs to take set three, 25-18.
 
Scheler scored the opening point of set four. The lead grew to 4-1, with Wahl, Johnson, and Nelson all scoring on attacks. The Saints took the lead after scoring four consecutive points. Scheler would tie the set to end the run. St. Scholastica continued scoring to go up 12-7. A service ace from Meyer and a kill from Scheler chipped away at the lead. A late five-point run pushed the CSS lead to seven. Kills from Johnson and Wahl, along with a block from Fleming and Meyer, brought the Cougars within three. Meyer added another kill later, but the Saints held on to win 25-21.
 
The Cougars hit .154 in the match, with their best set coming in the first at .357. Wahl led the attack with 12 kills, followed by Johnson with nine. Nelson and Scheler each added eight kills. Fleming set up the offense with 36 assists. UMM recorded four service aces, with Fleming, Wahl, Johnson, and Bopp each contributing one.
 
Defensively, Fleming had a team-high 16 digs. Bopp and Wahl each reached double-digit digs totals with 15 and 11, respectively. The Cougars totaled four blocks, with Meyer leading the team with three.
 
The Cougars return to Upper Midwest Athletic Conference action on Friday as they host the University of Northwestern at 7 p.m.