At a tournament that featured four teams receiving preseason attention from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, it was the Dominican University Stars that posted a perfect 4-0 mark at the University of Northwestern's Labor Day Tournament, topping the College of St. Scholastica (27-29, 25-19, 25-15, 25-17) and preseason #20 Augsburg College (25-16, 24-26, 25-21, 25-22) on Saturday to round out the action.
 
"I'm really proud of our team and the way we played today," remarked Jeanne Czipri, the Stars' head coach. "It was one-hundred percent a team effort.  We played with grit and worked hard throughout the entirety of both matches and it showed in the great weekend and some quality wins."
 
The Stars started a little slow in their morning match with St. Scholastica, dropping the first set before rolling past the Saints in the next three sets.
 
Christina Wilson (Homer Glen, Ill.) dished out 50 assists, with a trio of Stars knocking down double-digit kills paced by Kendyl Todd's (Crete, Ill.) 13 kills on just 23 swings.  Carri Chambers (Winnebago, Ill.) added 11 kills while Alex Kisten (Huntley, Ill.) finished the match with ten.  Rosalyn Wyse (Greenville, Mich.) added eight kills as Wilson used seven hitters to keep the Saints' block on their heels.
 
Defensively for the Stars, Caitlen Foote (Dexter, Mich.) collected 35 digs as Dominican posted a total of 93 digs to hold the Saints to a .139 attack percentage.  At the net, Dominican had 15 total blocks led by Todd who had four block assists.
 
In the second match of the day, Dominican asserted itself early on against the #20 Auggies.  The Stars' high-powered offense was paced by Chambers who knocked down a match-high 20 kills on 43 swings to hit .326.  Maddi Zanoni (Hudsonville, Mich.) and Kisten added 11 and ten kills respectively while Wilson doled out 43 assists.
 
The Stars' defense was much more balanced in the afternoon match, with Foote and Chambers sharing team-high honors with 18 digs apiece while Megan Parker (Battle Creek, Mich.) collected 12 and Wilson rounded out her fourth double-double of the season and third of the weekend with 12 digs of her own.
 
"It's very rewarding for the entire team to see them compete at such a high level," continued Czipri. "After such an impressive weekend for us, I'm excited to get back in the gym and continue to move forward."
 
Dominican, now 4-1 on the season, travels to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on Saturday, September 12, to take on the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls before opening Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) action on September 15 at Rockford.