‘Bridge Battle’ goes to UWS

The University of Wisconsin-Superior volleyball team swept the St. Scholastica Saints 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-18) in front of the largest crowd of the season Tuesday night at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.

The victory for the Yellowjackets, which came in the final match of the UW-Superior Triangular, was the first over St. Scholastica since opening day of the 2009 season. The win also snaps the Saints’ four-match winning streak over the Yellowjackets.

With the opening set tied 1-1, Superior’s Kitty Tynen held serve on five straight points to build the lead to 6-1. Later in the set, with the Yellowjackets leading 11-8, Farrah Wirtz took UWS on a 7-0 run to make the lead insurmountable. Junior Jessica Dvergsten finished off the first set with a kill, giving the Yellowjackets a 25-12 win.

In the second set the Yellowjackets picked up right where they left off in the first as Keely Deadrick staked the ’Jackets to a 5-0 lead.

After the Saints broke the streak and got on the board, Tynen again went to work, serving five straight points to make the score 11-1.

After the teams traded points, a Deadrick kill, on an assist from Lauren Peterson made it 17-4. The Saints called a timeout and came alive once they broke the huddle, going on an 8-2 run, but the damage had been done and the Yellowjackets closed out the second set, again doing so via a Dvergsten kill.

St. Scholastica took a 2-1 lead early in the third set, but the Yellowjackets came roaring back with Tynen serving and built a 6-2 lead.

Later, with the Yellowjackets leading 7-3, Nikki Gosson served four straight points to stretch the lead to 11-4. The teams again scored back-and-forth, with the Saints pulling to within four points at 20-16. But back-to-back kills from Gosson and Tynen closed out the set, giving the Yellowjackets the sweep and the win.

Gosson led the way offensively for the Yellowjackets with a match-high 19 kills and a .594 attack percentage. Tynen was right behind with 14 kills. As a team the Yellowjackets posted a .364 attack percentage, compared to just .182 for St. Scholastica. Deadrick led the Yellowjackets with 42 of the team’s 50 assists.

Defensively, Tynen and Wirtz tied for the team lead with 14 digs.

Anna Zyvoloski led the way for St. Scholastica, as she was credited with 10 of the Saints’ 25 kills in the match.

’JACKET JOTTINGS: UWS leads the all-time series with CSS 32-27. … In exhibition action, the Yellowjackets defeated Lakehead University of Thunder Bay 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-23 and 25-20) in the first match of the day. … The Yellowjackets (12-2) begin WIAC play when they host UW-Whitewater at 7 p.m. Friday. The Warhawks (10-4) come into the match ranked No. 13 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

SAINTS SNIPETS: St. Scholastica (5-7) defeated Lakehead 3-1 in the second exhibition match. … CSS will play its home and conference opener on Friday when the Saints host North Central University at 7 p.m. in the Reif Gymnasium. All of the action can be seen live on Saints Sports Net. … The Saints are below .500 for the first time since October 14, 2009. … All five of CSS’s wins have come in three sets. … The Saints are 0-5 when the match goes beyond three sets.

Tags: sports, uws, yellowjackets, css, saints