St. Bonifacius, Minn. – As the fans at the Wild Athletic Center were dressed as superheroes on Crown's 100th birthday, the Storm volleyball team featured it's own superhero performances on Thursday night winning both games of their doubleheader, beating both Mount Mary and Finlandia University three sets to one. 

In the first game, Crown was led by the superb performance by its youth. Freshman Christine Anderson (New Prague, Minn./New Prague) had seven kills including four blocks and an incredible .583 hitting percentage. Fellow freshman Sarah Reinke (Clintonville, Minn./First Baptist Christian) supplied an impressive all-around performance with fifteen assists, four kills, and six digs. A third freshman Karissa Steinkamp (Shoreview, Minn./Dalat International School) also had a great game with seven kills of her own. Crown was able to secure victory in that game in four sets, losing only the second. 

In the second game, and there is no question that the crowd, armed with pots, pans, and even drums, had an impact. After losing the first set 23-25, Crown didn't lose another set to beat Finlandia. 

Junior Kelsey Roschen (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) led the team in that game with 30 sets and three serving aces during the game. Sophomore Kaylea Kidder (Shell Lake, Wis./Shell Lake) led the team with 18 kills. Junior Miranda Brueggeman (Harris, Iowa/Harris Lake Park) overcame a few early errors to have an incredible third and fourth set making several near-impossible digs. Brueggeman had 30 digs in the game by the end. Junior Katie Hinkle (Dows, Iowa/Clarion-Goldfield) had four blocks including the game clincher at the end of the fourth set. 

With the loud crowd behind them, the win against Finlandia was certainly a momentum starter for the Storm. 

"The game against Finlandia was definitely a turning point in our season," said Brueggeman, "everything seemed to click and even though some spots were rocky, we always kept pushing." 

"You could tell every single one of the players on and off the court were having so much fun and the energy from everyone really made that win possible," Brueggeman continued, "Our hitters were on fire and Finlandia just didn't know how to keep up with us during the third and fourth sets. Overall it was an amazing night and the best way to celebrate crown turning 100!" 

Crown next plays in Mankato against UMAC opponent Bethany Lutheran next Tuesday at 7pm.