ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – In each of her four seasons with the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team, Emily Marso was happy to play her role with the team – whatever that might be.
For her first three seasons, that role was to come in for a point or two and give a teammate a break, or sub in to break up a rotation or give opposing front lines a new hitter to try and stop.
As a senior in 2019, Marso’s role turned into a starting role with CSB – and she made the most of it.
Marso, a biology major, played in all 32 matches for the Bennies this season as one of the team’s middles. After playing a limited role in the team’s 2018 Sweet 16 run, Marso was a consistent starter for Saint Benedict as a senior, and played a key part in the team’s run through the regional tournament and Elite 8 appearance.
To kick off her senior year, Marso recorded seven kills and four total blocks in a win over Minnesota-Morris at the Trinity (Texas) tournament. Over the course of the next 32 matches, she finished fourth on the team with a career-best 158 kills, and third on the squad with 62 total blocks.
After recording a career-best nine kills against Simpson College as a junior, Marso recorded double-digit kills for the first time on Oct. 19 in a 3-1 win at St. Scholastica. She hit double digits twice more, including 11 kills on Nov. 5 in a MIAC quarterfinal win against Bethel. On the defensive side of the ball, Marso finished with a career-best five total blocks three times in 2019, including the team’s first-round region game against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 14.
Marso played in all 17 sets of the team’s 2019 NCAA Tournament run, and was one of the team’s leaders with six kills in the Elite 8 against undefeated and eventual national champion Johns Hopkins. Marso also finished with several key blocks in the region championship win against UW-Stevens Point, including a block in the fifth set to give the Bennies some breathing room at 9-7, and she teamed with Hunter Weiss for a big block on the Pointers’ All-American outside hitter to give CSB a 26-24 first-set win.
