NORTHFIELD, Minn.—  In a day that featured two tight matches, Annelise Sokolow (So./Draper, Utah/Juan Diego Catholic) and Jancyn Appel (Kansas City, Mo./The Pembroke Hill School) recorded double-digit kills totals in both contests, but the Carleton College volleyball team fell to St. Scholastica 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 29-27, 26-24) in the opening match before dropping a hard-fought four-set match against UW-Platteville (18-25, 25-9, 26-24, 28-26) in the nightcap.
 
Prior to the final match of the day, Carleton (6-18, 1-8 MIAC) honored the five seniors in the program: Grace de Benedetti (San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco University), Imani Kindness-Coleman (Lodge Grass, Mont./Hardin), Natalie Mun (Long Grove, Ill./Adlai Stevenson), Inger Shelton (Sr./San Diego, Calif./La Jolla), and Talia Williams (Minnetonka, Minn./Eagle Ridge Academcy).
 
"It's a little challenging to put into words how special this group of seniors is," said Carleton head coach Jacki Smith. "Each of them has poured so much of their time and talents into helping build the culture of our program over their careers. They care deeply about Carleton Volleyball, and without question they all have strong desires to win and be successful on the scoreboard.
 
"Unfortunately, the scoreboard doesn't always come out in our favor. But regardless of the adversity this group has faced, they have remained strong in their character. Beyond the volleyball court, they are great leaders, selfless friends, and hardworking students. Each one of them will leave behind a unique legacy in our program which spans far beyond wins and losses. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to coach them these last four years. I will dearly miss them."
 
Carleton vs St. Scholastica Recap
In their first head-to-head contest since St. Scholastica became the newest member of the MIAC, Carleton jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the match after taking the first set 25-23. The Knights tallied 18 kills in the opening stanza, including six from Sokolow and five from Appel. Leading 23-22 late in the set, Sokolow blasted her fifth kill of the match to give the Knights a set-point opportunity. After a side out from the Saints, Sokolow struck again, as her attack winner gave Carleton a set win and leg up in the match.
 
St. Scholastica answered with a 25-17 win in the second set. The two teams staged a great back-and-forth battle in a third set that featured 17 ties and six lead changes. With the Saints leading 24-23 late in the set, Appel registered her seventh kill of the set to tie the score at 24-24. A service ace from Grace Perret (Fy./Green Bay, Wis./Preble) on the ensuing point gave Carleton a set-point opportunity, but St. Scholastica responded with a kill on the following point and eventually went on to earn a hard-fought 29-27 decision and 2-1 match lead.
 
Despite holding a 10-8 advantage in kills during the fourth set, the Knights were unable to force a fifth game as St. Scholastica closed the match out with a 26-24 win.
 
Appel led Carleton with season high-tying 17 kills and hit a team-high .441 to go along with five blocks, while Sokolow added 14 kills with a .128 hitting percentage. Perret added nine kills, while Inger Shelton (Sr./San Diego, Calif./La Jolla) led all participants with 38 assists in the match. Kennedy Bombei (Fy./Solon, Iowa) led Carleton with 20 digs.
 
Carleton registered 10 blocks as a team, including four from Naiya Karl (Jr./Fargo, N.D./Fargo South).  
 
Carleton vs UW-Platteville Recap
Sokolow and Appel again led the Carleton offensive attack, as the duo collected 13 and 12 kills respectively, but the Knights fell in four hard-fought sets by a 3-1 tally (18-25, 25-9, 26-24, 28-26).
 
Appel hit .346 in the match, while Sokolow hit .242 and added 12 digs. Shelton added 30 assists and 10 digs, while Bombei led Carleton with 13 digs and three service aces.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will close out the home portion of the season next Friday, Oct. 29, when the Knights host Augsburg University for a 7:00 p.m. contest at West Gym. The Knights will then make the short trip across the Cannon River on to face cross-town rival St. Olaf the following evening in the season finale.