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Volleyball Wins Tournament Upsets #8 in the Nation

Brie Mattson
September 3, 2001

At their season starter, the Ole?s Volleyball team ranked 16th in the nation hit the court red hot in River Falls, Wisconsin. Going undefeated in both matches and in games, the women mixed team goals of commitment and consistency with a lot of grit to find the winning combination.

The two-day invitational matched the Oles against UW-Stout and Augsburg College on Friday, August 31st. UW-Stout gave a great fight with scrappiness and an endless pursuit of the ball. The Oles won the match in three games with the scores of 30-26, 33-31, and 31-29. The Oles then played the Auggies in a quick three-game match to wrap up the day. Nicole Trnka (Sr., Morristown, MN) held a .500 attacking percentage with 13 kills assisted by Brie Mattson (Jr., Anoka, MN) setting an individual tournament high of 36 total assists against Augsburg. The games were won 30-20, 30-20, and 30-23.

On Saturday, September 1st, the Oles matched up against the Upper Iowa Peacocks and the invitational host, UW-River Falls, respectively. The Oles showed up to dominate the court once again. Competing against the Peacocks, the team accumulated a tournament high attack percentage of .427 with outstanding efforts made by newcomer Veronica Cherne (FY, Bloomington, MN?Jefferson HS). The versatile Cherne hit, dug, and blocked against the Peacocks with a rock-steadiness of a veteran. The games scores were 30-15, 30-10, and 30-13.

Directly following their first match, the Oles proved victorious against UW-River Falls winning in three, 30-17, 30-22, and 30-25. The team had incentive to work hard and work together knowing the Falcons were recently ranked 8th in the nation. Between Juniors Shannah Olson (Elk River, MN) and Emily Ganzkow-Wold (Madison, WI?West HS) the Falcons had no chance on either offense or defense. Olson tallied up 12 kills and 13 digs, while Ganzkow-Wold accumulated 6 blocks. The Oles left the tournament with tired muscles but big smiles as well.

The Ole?s Volleyball team will hit the court next at Augsburg College on Friday, September 7th and Saturday, September 8th to improve upon their undefeated status thus far in the season. And don?t forget about their first conference match at home against the Tommies of St. Thomas University at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, September 12th in Skoglund Athletic Center.

Contact Judy Stromayer at 507-786-3315 or stromaye@stolaf.edu.