St. Joseph, Minn. – The Saint Benedict volleyball team continued their incredible streak tonight (Oct. 10), beating St. Catherine 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 26-14).

“They're a really good team so that win was a big deal for us” said Victoria Nass “We came out strong and it was fun to have some good competition.”

The Blazers (17-4, 6-1 MIAC) have now won 11 of their last 12 matches with the lone loss to No. 7 St. Thomas. With the three-set sweep, CSB has also now won 15 consecutive sets, their longest stretch of the season, and best under head coach Nicole Hess.

The first set started out close, and stayed tight the whole way through. The Blazers eventually pulled ahead and took the win with a score of 25-18, scoring 10 of the final 14 points in the set.

In the second, CSB held a comfortable lead for much of the set and took the win 25-15. It was in the second that the Blazer had their best set statistically, hitting .444 with a match high 16 kills against just four errors.

St. Catherine (12-11, 3-4 MIAC) took an early 6-3 lead in the third set, but after the Blazers tied it up the lead began to shift back and forth. The Blazers finished off three long volleys involving numerous diving plays as the game turned into a nail-biter. After six lead changes and 13 ties, the Blazers finally took the third and final set by a score of 26-24, capping the match with a 6-1 scoring run.
    
Junior Lexi Alm led the attack once again tonight, finishing with a game-high 13 kills. She also added 12 digs to complete her 12th double-double of the season.  Sophomore Alexa Rinde led the team with a .471 hitting percentage and another 10 kills, while Sophie Stangl and Chelsea Rachel each also contributed eight kills.

The Blazers are now two wins away from tying Coach Hess' single season wins record, and just one shy of her best at CSB of 18, set each of the last two seasons.

They will now look to meet and surpass the mark on the road, heading to the UW-Stout Invite this weekend. There they will face UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout, UW-River Falls and St. Olaf respectively, and it's a pretty simple equation to keep their run going.

“Just rest and practice hard these next couple days before the tournament,” Alm said. “And go out and play like we have been.”