AARC opening: Volleyball falls to ranked Oles

L, 1-3

St. Olaf, September 15, 2010

Senior All-American Kim Smisek had 24 kills, 15 digs and three blocks to lead No. 16-ranked St. Olaf (6-3 overall, 1-0 MIAC) past No. 14-ranked St. Thomas (5-3, 0-1) Wednesday night before a crowd of 815 in the inaugural event in UST's new Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex.

For UST, senior Katie Bonine hit .325, had 17 kills and eight digs; senior All-American Emily Foster had four aces, nine digs, three blocks and 43 assists and surpassed 4,400 career assists; senior Alesha Nelson had 11 kills and hit .375; and sophomore Kaitlain Wachter had 13 digs.

The Oles, who were playing their fifth consecutive match against a top-15 ranked team, hit .200 and had a minumum of errors. Kelly Prunty had 47 assists; Melissa Burch had 10 kills and hit .500; Kirstee Rotty had 18 digs; and Kristin Boyum had 17 digs.

The Oles scored the final three points of set two to win 26-24 and take a commanding 2-0 set lead.

UST trailed 22-20 in set three but pulled out a 25-23 victory.

St. Olaf raced to leads of 12-7 and 18-12 in set four. UST rallied to tie 18-18 but the Oles closed out the match.

The Tommies, who played without injured senior Jill Osborne, will play Friday and Saturday in the Luther Tournament in Decorah, Iowa.

Click here for match box score:

The debut event at the new Schoenecker Arena in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex drew more than 800 spectators, nearly three times the crowd of past on-campus volleyball matches. (Thomas Whisenand photo)

Thomas Whisenand photos

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Team Stats

Katie Bonine

Alesha Nelson

Taylor Cross

Nicole Potts

University of St. Thomas Athletics