ST. PAUL, Minn. – The sixth-seeded Augsburg University volleyball team dropped a postseason heartbreaker on Tuesday evening, falling 3-2 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff Quarterfinals to third-seeded St. Catherine University.

THE BASICS 
FINAL SCORE: St. Catherine def. Augsburg 3-2 (20-25, 25-15, 27-25, 22-25, 7-15)
LOCATION: Butler Center, St. Paul, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 17-8 overall (6-5 MIAC), St. Catherine 18-7 overall (9-3 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED 
• With the Auggies leading 17-16 late in the first set, the Wildcats put together a strong run and won nine of the final 12 points to take the set 25-20.
• Augsburg was dominant early in the second set, quickly carving out an 11-3 advantage. The Auggie lead would stay above seven the rest of the way as Augsburg cruised to a 25-15 set win to even the match at 1-1.
• The early portion of set three felt similar to its predecessor with the Auggies quickly working out to a 10-5 lead. This time, however, the Wildcats fought back and got within a point at 13-12 before tying the set at 18-18. The teams went blow for blow with ties at 22, 23, 24, and 25 before the Auggies pulled away with two straight points to win the set 27-25 and go up 2-1 in the match.
• The Wildcats held a narrow advantage for a majority of the early portion of the fourth set, eventually clawing their way to a 17-10 lead. The Auggies would not go down without a fight as they stormed back to tie the match at 22, but the Wildcats finished stronger with three consecutive kills to take the set 25-22 and force a fifth set.
• Augsburg struggled to get going in the fifth set, quickly falling behind 5-0. The Auggies fought to cut the deficit to just two points at 7-5 in favor of St. Catherine, but it proved to be all they could do as the Wildcats took the final set 15-7 to win the match 3-2.
• Jade Fullerton (SR, Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) led the way for the Auggies, hitting .448 with a career-high 16 kills and a match-high six total blocks. Brianna Van Well (JR, Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury HS) was the only other Auggie with double-digit kills as she finished with 13 to go along with three block assists and three digs.
• Kayla Gjerde (SR, Afton, Minn./Stillwater HS) tallied eight kills and a match-high 21 digs while Kevin Boysen (SR, Rochester, Minn./Rochester HS) logged seven kills and five digs.
• Angel Vo (SO, Blaine, Minn./Mounds View HS), Torrie Rehder (SO, Goodhue, Minn./Goodhue HS), and Bria Sandifer (JR, St. Paul, Minn./North St. Paul HS) finished with 16, 13, and 12 digs, respectively.
• Neither team was particularly efficient on the attack as Augsburg hit .154 with 51 kills and 25 errors on 169 attempts and St. Catherine hit .103 with 57 kills and 38 errors on 184 attempts.
 
FOR THE FOES
• Tiffany Tellez led the Wildcats with a 15 dig, 11 kill double-double.

UP NEXT
• With the Auggies now eliminated from the MIAC Playoffs, the Wildcats will advance to the semifinals where they will face St. Olaf on Thursday evening.