WHEATON, Ill. –
Kelly Cefalu (Waunakee, WI/Waunakee) hit a match-high 17 kills to lead the No. 12 UW-Stevens Point volleyball team to a 25-15, 25-22, 26-24 victory over St. Mary's (Ind.) at the Wheaton (Ill.) Invitational on Friday evening at King Arena.
Box Score The 17-kill performance for Cefalu was the junior's seventh consecutive match with at least 13 kills for UW-Stevens Point (16-4). After winning the first set comfortably, the Pointers trailed St. Mary's (11-5) past the midway point in the second and third sets but pulled out the sweep.
UW-Stevens Point hit .333 and Cefalu registered eight of her 17 kills in the opening set. The Pointers used a 7-1 run to blow the set open and take a 21-12 lead.
In the second, St. Mary's took a 16-13 lead before the Pointers ripped off six consecutive points to take a 19-16 lead. Cefalu had two kills and served the final five points during the run. The Belles tied the score at 19-19 before UWSP again took command with four consecutive points.
An 8-1 run by St. Mary's gave the Belles a 15-14 lead in the third set, only for UW-Stevens Point to rattle off five consecutive points to lead by four. St. Mary's came right back to tie the score at 20-20 and eventually took a 23-22 lead.
The Pointers then won three straight points on a kill by
Bella Nelson (Luck, WI/Luck), an ace by
Brittany Laffin (Carpentersville, IL/Hampshire) and a kill by
Marie Krengel (Eagan, MN/Eastview) to go up by two and eventually closed it out on an attack error by St. Mary's.
Ellen Drewry (Waunakee, WI/Waunakee) joined Cefalu in double figures with 10 kills and hit .368 in the match for UW-Stevens Point, which hit .212. Laffin had 41 assists for her 10th 40-plus assist performance and her fifth in the last six matches.
Hannah Picel (West Bend, WI/West Bend West) was one of five UWSP players in double figures in digs with a team-best 23. Cefalu added 13 digs to her 17 kills, while Krengel had 14 digs, six kills, four assists and two block assists.
Katie Hecklinski led St. Mary's with 14 kills and 11 digs, while McKenzie Todd led all players with 26 digs. The Belles hit .146 in the match.
UW-Stevens Point takes on Dubuque at 12:15 p.m. and North Central (Ill.) at 2:30 p.m. on day two of the tournament on Saturday, Oct. 3.
