OMAHA, Neb. – Slow starts seem to be a theme for the College of Saint Mary volleyball team.
The Flames were able to recover from their first slow start in their opening match Friday, but couldn’t dig out of the hole in the second match.
College of Saint Mary beat Mount Mercy University 3-1 in the opening match of the CSM Labor Day Classic, but then lost 3-0 to Viterbo University in the nightcap.
“Slow starts are really dampening us right now,” CSM Coach Rick Pruett said. “And sustaining momentum in crucial times is hurting us because of unforced errors.”
Against Mount Mercy, CSM lost the opening set 26-24 before winning the second set 25-22, the third set 25-16 and then the fourth set 25-23.
Grace Werner led the Flames with 15 kills, while Madisyn Havermann had 13, Azaria Green tallied 12 and both Liz Henrichson and Morgan Ramsey tallied nine. Miranda Ring had 27 set assists and Kaitlyn Busby finished with 25. Defensively, Elen Pruett compiled 26 digs, Caitlin McCormack had 12 and Busby added 11. Green finished with four solo blocks and five block assists, while Mady Welp chipped in with six block assists.
“We got off to a slow start, but we really got things going in the third set,” Pruett said. “We ended with 14 blocks and 66 digs which was a good number considering we started so slow in those first two sets.
“Offensively we were good as we hit .258 as a team. Grace led the charge with 15 kills and Madisyn had a great match against her former team with 12 kills and hitting .297. Elen was good defensively with 26 digs in a four-set match. It was a good win for us.”
The Flames got behind big in the first set against the V-Hawks but managed to work their way back into the set before losing 25-19. Viterbo won the second set 25-18 before battling past the Flames in a third-set marathon 31-29.
Havermann and Henrichson both belted nine kills, while Green and Werner had eight each. Setters Ring and Busby had 22 and 17 assists, respectively. Pruett tallied 11 digs and Krissy Radicia finished with eight. Green also had a team-high five block assists.
“I am still proud of this team because they are trying hard and things will eventually get better,” Pruett said. “It’s a process and we’ll get there.”
The Flames are back in action Saturday with a 3 p.m. contest vs. University of Saint Mary and a 5 p.m. showdown with Peru State College.
