ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team has emerged this season as one of the best hitting teams in the MIAC – and Division III – and last week was no exception. The team hit .325 or better in a pair of MIAC matches, including .330 in a sweep of No. 11 Augsburg.
Behind those big hits and consistent kill numbers is setter Katie Koch. In her second year running the team’s offense, Koch has evolved into one of the top setters in both the MIAC and the country behind her consistent play. Last week, Koch finished with more than 70 assists in a pair of three-set wins and averaged 12.50 assists per set. For another big – but consistent – week, Koch is this week’s CSB Athlete of the Week.
Koch – who has 701 assists to her name this season and 1,993 in her career – started her week last week with a solid performance in a sweep of Macalester. She dished out 36 assists to help the team hit .326 and rack up 43 kills to the Scots’ 29. She also tallied nine digs to help the team’s defensive effort and two kills.
Koch, a junior from Bloomington, had another big day Saturday in a top-25 matchup against No. 11 Augsburg. In the team’s first home game in a month, she tallied 39 assists to go along with 12 digs and three kills. The double-double marked her seventh of the season, and moved her into third on the team with 169 total digs this season. Thanks to Koch’s 13.00 assists per set against the Auggies, CSB hit .330 as a team, and three individuals hit .500 or better throughout the match.
In just six sets last week, Koch finished with 75 assists and 21 digs along with six kills, and she averaged 12.50 assists per set. This season, Koch ranks second in the MIAC in both assists (701) and assists per set (10.97), and she is fifth in Division III in assists per set and 11
th in total assists.
Koch has recorded 40 or more kills seven times this season, including 49 in a five-set at Bethel. She also tied her career-high with 16 digs that match.
As a team, CSB is 14
th in Division III with an average of 12.51 assists per set, and the team leads the MIAC in the same category. Thanks to Koch’s consistent setting, the team is also sixth in Division III in hitting percentage (.269) and eighth with 13.82 kills per set, and leads the MIAC in both categories.
Koch and her teammates are back in action Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11 and 12, in a pair of key MIAC contests. The team is at Saint Mary’s Friday, then heads to Northfield Saturday for a big MIAC match against St. Olaf – a team that beat Augsburg in five sets last week.
