BELLEVUE, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary volleyball team got two big wins Saturday at the GoSarpy.com Classic hosted by Bellevue University.
The Flames opened the day with a 3-2 victory over Dickinson State University and then battled back to get a 3-2 win over Grand View University in the afternoon contest.
“I’m really proud of the way we battled today,” CSM Coach Rick Pruett said. “We showed composure and grit.”
In the morning contest the Flames won the opening set 25-12 and then the second set 25-23. But the Blue Hawks wouldn’t go away easily. Dickinson won the third set 25-18 before an all-out battle in the fourth set that the Blue Hawks won 31-29. The fifth set proved to be another battle, but this time the Flames came out on top with a 17-15 victory.
“Against Dickinson State we were in a similar situation as we were last Thursday as we started strong and went up 2-0 and then fell apart in sets three and four,” Pruett said. “We were down 10-6 in the fifth set, but we got a couple really big blocks, played great defensive and found a way to win.”
CSM’s Azaria Green and Grace Werner both put down 16 kills. Teammate Madisyn Havermann tallied 14, Liz Henrichson had 13 and Mady Welp finished with eight. Setters Kaitlyn Busby and Miranda Ring pushed up 31 and 26 assists, respectively.
Defensively, Krissy Radicia managed a team-high 20 digs, Elen Pruett tallied 18, Caitlin McCormack had 12, Busby contributed nine and Ring finished with eight. Green also had a whopping five block assists.
“Grace and Azaria led the team and our middle hitters really dominated,” Pruett said. “Our setters did a great job of distributing the ball and four of our hitters had double digit kills. Our trio of defensive specialists were amazing in both serve receive and defense.”
The Flames got down early against Grand View as the Vikings won the first set 25-23 and then the second set 25-20. But CSM hung in there and rallied to take the third set 25-20 and battle to win the fourth set 27-25. The fifth and deciding set was another nail-biter, but the Flames won 15-12 to secure the victory.
Werner and Green paced CSM again with 14 kills apiece. Havermann put down 11 kills, Ramsey had 10 and both Henrichson and Welp chipped in with nine. Busby had a team-high 30 assists and Ring finished with 28. Green was tough at the net with two solo blocks and six block assists.
CSM had five players in double digits for digs: Pruett 22, Busby 16, Radicia 14, Ring 13 and McCormack 12.
“This match was a great way to end our day,” Pruett said. “We found a way to get things done.”
The Flames are now 4-2 on the season and return to action at the CSM Labor Day Classic. For the first time, the Flames will be hosting their home tournament on campus in the Lied Fitness Center Fieldhouse this year. The two-day tournament will be Aug. 30-31.
