St. Paul, MN- The 23rd ranked College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (29-6, 9-2 MIAC) defeated Concordia (22-6, 8-3 MIAC) to win the NCAA Regional Championship.  The Blazers now move onto the NCAA Elite 8 in Bloomington, Illinois.

The two MIAC competitors competed in an exciting match, and the championship saw a hard-fought contest from the very beginning.  The score was tied at 24-24 in the first set, but CSB, who beat Concordia 3-2 on Nov. 1, rallied for the next three points to win the set 27-25.  The Cobbers and Blazers traded points again in set two, but Saint Benedict was able to edge out their opponent for the 2-0 match lead, winning 25-23

Even though they had a challenging task ahead, the Cobbers did not give in to the Blazer attack and rallied for the victory 21-25 in the third set.  Saint Benedict did not falter, though and claimed a quick lead and held onto it for the match clinching victory in set four, 25-17.

Junior outside hitter Emma Jaynes (Hibbing, MN, Hibbing) (16 kills, 22 digs) was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player. The Blazers also saw strong performances from junior setter Beth Hanson (Fairbault, MN, Bethlehem Academy) (56 assists, 17 digs), first-year outside hitter Chelsie Sobieck (Wyoming, MN, Forrest Lake) (17 kills, 17 digs) and sophomore Calleigh Brown (Buffalo, MN, Buffalo) (13 kills, three blocks).

This marks the first trip to the NCAA Finals for Saint Benedict since 1993.  They play on Thursday, Nov. 20 against Emory.

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