ST. PAUL, Minn. – With a combined 34 more aces than their opponents, the Linfield Wildcats won three of four matches Friday and Saturday at the Macalester Volleyball Invitational.
The Wildcats raised their season record to 6-1 heading to Northwest Conference play at home next Friday. Their only loss game in five sets in the tournament finale at the hands of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Linfield def. Knox (Ill.) 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 25-9
Destyni Grace threaded eight of Linfield's 12 service aces and distributed 29 assists to help Linfield get past Knox in the tournament opener.
Three Wildcats reached double-digits in kills with
Taylor Petersen dropping down 14 kills,
Darian Stedman tapping 11 and
Eryka Keoho reaching 10.
Kayla Magbaleta was solid defensively, picking up 33 digs and three assists.
Peterson had three solo blocks and one block assist while hitting a stellar .323 at the net.
Linfield def. St. Catherine's 17-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-18
After dropping the first set, the 'Cats recovered to sweep the next three frames.
Stedman was the leading point producer with 13 kills. Magbaleta successfully dug 18 balls while setters Grace and
Mattie Kelly combined for 38 assists. The Wildcats produced 16 service aces, seven by Stedman and three from Grace.
St. Catherine's was slightly more efficient at the net, hitting .121 to the Wildcats' .115.
Linfield def. Macalester (Minn.) 25-21, 27-29, 25-20, 25-10
The Wildcats' efficiency on the serve continued against the Scots with 11 aces, five by Petersen and two each from Stedman and Grace.
Keoho and Stedman each piled up 15 kills and
Regan Dean added a dozen more as the 'Cas pulled away from a tight match to win the deciding set with relative ease.
In addition to her serving prowess, Petersen contributed six kills and four digs. Grace spread around 24 assists and Magbaleta tallied 20 digs from the back line.
Brianna Sanford came off the bench to total five kiils, two solo blocks and seven block assists.
Wisconsin-River Falls def. Linfield 25-23, 16-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12
The evenly played match turned in River Falls' favor in the deciding set. Trailing 13-8, the Wildcats scored five straight points to nearly pull even but attack errors on the final two points clinched the outcome for UWRF.
Keoho had 15 kills and two blocks, Petersen totaled 14 kills and five blocks, and Drew Regan chipped in with 10 kills.
Grace and Stedman both served up four aces and each had double-digit totals in digs.
River Falls outblocked Linfield 17-6 in an otherwise statistically even contest.
Next
The Wildcats put their 6-1 record on the line this weekend when Northwest Conference play revs up with home contents against Willamette on Friday and Lewis & Clark on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. Live video coverage on the Linfield Sports Network begins at 6:45.
