ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. — For their final contest of the season, Crown Volleyball hosteda lively Wild Athletic Center crowd, helping propel the Storm to a win in a five-set thriller over the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) rival Martin Luther College. The Storm won the first two sets, but the Knights stole momentum back as they took the next two, forcing a 15-point fifth set.
The final set went back and forth, with the Storm seizing a game-winning point as senior Karissa Steinkamp hammered her fifth block of the night and her final of her Storm career to secure the win. The Storm won 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 16-25, 15-13), an incredible way to celebrate Senior Night, as Crown honored seniors Madeline Svoboda, Sarah Reinke, Karissa Steinkamp, and Cortney Gunderson before the game.
"I will remember this game for years to come because of the girls surrounding me," said Steinkamp, thrilled with the result of her final game. "I have been incredibly blessed to have such loving, amazing women in my life. These girls truly became my sisters. I will miss every single one of them tremendously."
Leaders for the Storm were sophomore Gracie Zieroth with an incredible fifteen kills, while sophomore Talana Rudzitis led in assists with twenty-one. Senior Madeline Svoboda led with twenty-two digs and senior Steinkamp led with five blocks.
"The best feeling of the night was not the feeling of winning-it was the overwhelming feeling of teamwork and sisterhood," said senior Sarah Reinke. "Our team loves each other deeply, and it was evident in the way that we played and celebrated together. When I look back on my college career, I won't remember the number of wins or losses, but I'll most definitely remember the women that I got to call my teammates and sisters."
This conference win marks several milestones in first-year head coach Brittany Strange's collegiate coaching career, concluding her first season and receiving her first Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) win.
"We left our hearts out on the court, for each other and God, said Gunderson. "That's all that I could ever ask and the best I could ever receive from the game of volleyball."
The Storm conlude their 2019 season and look the future as they bring back several key performers from the past year.
"We played as a family tonight and these girls have truly impacted my heart," said Svoboda. "I loved finishing on a high note!"
