RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point volleyball team (11-2) knocked off its second ranked opponent of the week with a four-set victory over No. 23 St. Thomas to complete a two-win day to open the UW-River Falls Invitational on Friday.  In the opening match of the day, UWSP defeated the College of Saint Benedict in straight sets.
 
Senior Delaney McCreary (West Bend, Wis./East) recorded her third double-double in the last week with 15 assists and 10 digs against CSB.  She added a pair of service aces in the win over the Blazers.
 
Sophomore Abby Majercik (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) racked up a season-high 38 assists in the win over the Tommies. Senior Kendra Kundinger (Auburndale, Wis./Auburndale) totaled 50 digs on the night with 30 against UST and 20 against CSB.
 
Fellow senior Kelly Magliano (Chicago, Ill./Mount Assisi Academy) had double-digit kills in both matches.  She had 10 in the opener and 13 against UST.  Morgan Wirkus (Marathon, Wis./Marathon) led the Pointers with 16 kills against St. Thomas.
 
UWSP 3, CSB 0 (25-15, 25-19, 26-24)
Magliano picked up three early kills as UWSP won six of the first seven points of the match.  Later in the set, Kundinger served up an ace among a five-point run to grow the lead to 14-4.  A strong offensive set ended on a Wirkus kill in the 25-15 win.
 
Wirkus broke an 8-8 tie in the second set with a kill and the Pointers didn't trail the rest of the set.  Sophomore Tara Emme (St. Nazianz, Wis./Valders) added three kills in the set win.
 
UWSP took an early lead in the third set with Magliano recording blocks on back-to-back points to open a 5-1 edge.  After CSB took an 11-9 lead, Wirkus and Maddie Courter (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) recorded kills as UWSP regained the lead 14-12.  Wirkus recorded a pair of late-set kills and UWSP forced CSB into three errors to break the 23-23 tie for the match win.
 
UWSP 3, St. Thomas 1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21)
UWSP started the match with its lowest hitting percentage of the night as the Tommies took the opening set with a game-high 15 kills.
 
The Pointers bounced back in the second set and eked out a close set with both teams knocking down 13 kills, but the Tommies committing one more attacking error.  The third set saw much of the same as UWSP won another tight set with 14 kills and a win by just a two-point margin.
 
In the fourth set, the Pointers hit .256, the best set of the match.  St. Thomas hit better in the fourth set, but it wasn't enough as UWSP prevailed in a tough four-set victory.
 
The Pointers conclude the weekend with matches against St. Olaf (10:00 a.m.) and Finlandia (2:00 p.m.) on Saturday at the UW-River Falls Invitational.