ST. PAUL, Minn. - Marian University women's volleyball (0-9, 0-0 NACC) fell to Luther in straight sets before dropping a five-set thriller to Central to close out the St. Catherine Tournament.

The first match of the day saw the Sabres struggle as they were swept by Luther with set scores of 25-20, 25-18, and 25-20.  The Marian offense started to find a rhythm in the match, however, as they hit .104 for the match.

Senior Catelyn Brehm led the way for Marian with a team-high seven kills and seven digs, while Amber Baker assisted on 14 kills.

MU was able to take advantage of their offensive rhthym to open their second match of the day against Central.  The Sabres would take the first two sets of the match with set scores of 25-18 and 25-17 with hitting percentages of .235 and .216, respectively. 

Marian jumped out to an early 9-3 lead to open the third set looking for the sweep, but Central would use a 12-4 run to take a 15-13 advantage.  The Sabres tied the set two points later at 15-15, but Central would score eight of the next nine points to take a commanding 23-16 lead that shifted the whole momentum for the match.  MU had four attacking errors and allowed two service aces during the run that allowed Central to take the third set.

The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair that saw the set tied at 24-24 before Central scored three of the next four points to take the set and force a fifth set. 

In the winner-take-all fifth the Dutch took the first lead at 8-5 before Marian scored six consecutive points to take an 11-8 advantage.  The Sabres were able to extend their lead out to 13-10 before Central scored five consecutive points to take the set and the match.

Three Sabres had double-digit kills led by freshman Amber Yahr's 15.  Fellow freshman Erika Horstman had 13 kills and senior Katy Funkhouser added 11.  From the back row, freshman Andrea Kubicek led the way with a match-high 24 digs, while senior Morgan Dercks added 18 digs.  Baker continued her strong play with 44 assists, 17 digs, and a service ace.

Marian returns to action when they open NACC play Tuesday, Sept. 13 at Edgewood with a 7 p.m. first serve.

--FightBlueFight--