ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The East Coast and top competition seem to agree with Laura Schmitt.
The senior outside hitter played her best volleyball of the season on the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team’s trip to Boston over the weekend, and wrapped up a stellar week for the Waconia, Minn., native. Schmitt recorded season-high totals for kills and digs, and led the Blazers against some of the top teams in Division III.
For her big week, Schmitt has been named the CSB Athlete of the Week.
Schmitt kicked off her big week with a double-double in a 3-0 sweep of Minnesota-Morris. She tallied 15 digs and 12 kills to help CSB win 25-15, 25-17 and 25-19.
She saved her best for the top competition, however. Friday night, the Blazers played two top-15 teams to five sets, and Schmitt led the way for the CSB offense. She finished with a season-high 20 kills against No. 3 Christopher Newport, and added 18 digs and four total blocks to her stat line.
Shortly after, Schmitt did it again, this time amassing 19 kills and a season-high 19 digs for her third double-double of the week against No. 12 Eastern. She also had three service aces in the match, which CSB led 2-0 after two sets.
Saturday, Schmitt wrapped up the week with another double-digit kill effort to help CSB finish its trip with a pair of 3-0 sweeps. Schmitt added 10 kills and seven digs to her weekly total in a sweep of host-school UMass-Boston, and she ended the trip with nine digs, eight kills and four service aces against Tufts, which is receiving votes in Division III.
Schmitt is currently seventh in the MIAC with 102 total kills and 3.29 kills per set. She’s also 12
th in the conference with 3.68 digs per set, and leads the team in kills and is second in total digs (114).
Schmitt and the Blazers are on the road for five more matches before returning home. CSB takes on rival St. Thomas at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 in St. Paul, then travels to Waverly, Iowa, for the Wartburg Tournament Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18-19.
