<ia Flatt (Sr./Walnut Creek, Calif./Carondelet) claimed a match-best 42 assists
and added 15 digs to lead the Carleton College volleyball team in a four-set win (23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-19) over St. Catherine University Wednesday evening.
The win marks the Knights third MIAC victory in a row, and keeps the team in the
thick of the MIAC post-season playoff picture with four conference matches remaining.
The host Wildcats (9-14, 0-7 MIAC) gained a leg up in the match, earning a closely contested 25-23 win in the first set, before the Knights
responded to level the match with a 25-20 win in the second set. Carleton (13-6, 3-4 MIAC) used the momentum to take the third set 25-15, and eventually closed out the match with a 25-19 win in the fourth set.
“We found a way to get over the slow start we had in the first set and started playing more like ourselves as the match wore on,” stated Carleton head coach Heidi Jaynes. “We turned things around with our serving and ball control so that we could set our middles and rightside more. It wasn’t pretty but we are very excited to get another conference win in this difficult league.”
For the match, Carleton hit .250 as a team compared to .127 for St. Kates.
Lucy Stevens (Fy./Portland, Ore./Oregon Episcopal School) led the Knights offensive attack with 17 kills and a .556 hitting percentage, while Karen Halls (SR./Edina, Minn.) added 15 kills and five blocks (two solo). Caroline Duke (So./Evanston, Ill.) added eight kills and hit .261, while Camille Benson (Jr./
Savage, Minn./Burnsville) added 27 digs and three aces.
For the Wildcats, Alyssa Besch led the way with a team-best nine kills, while setter Karsee Knutson added 26 assists and three service aces.
Carleton returns to action with a busy weekend slate scheduled on Saturday when
the Knights host their annual triangular. The Knights open play Saturday with a conference match against Macalester College at 12 p.m., before closing the afternoon with a non-conference match against the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse at 4 p.m.