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Tournament Page |
As the Saint Benedict volleyball team continues their extreme success, they try to focus all their energy towards the future as they start to wrap up the regular season. The Blazers have currently won 11 out of their last 12 games with a five game sweep streak going as well. On top of that, the team has won 15 consecutive sets, their longest streak of the year – but you wouldn't know if you talk to the players.
“We don't talk about our streak very much, we just look ahead and focus on the upcoming games,” said sophomore
Taya Kockelman.
The team has already had a great year with only one loss at home and a record of 17-4 and 6-1 in the MIAC. “The teams that have beaten us this year have all deserved the win. There were a couple games that we were just off and we paid for it but we've managed to get a lot of wins and a lot of sweeps recently which is good,” said Kockelman.
Head coach
Nicole Hess is already narrowing in on her single season wins mark, needing just two more wins to tie her record with nine more regular season games left. “We've put a lot of work into this season and it has showed. We've had a lot of sweeps which has helped our confidence, and the momentum has also helped us a lot,” said sophomore
Sophie Stangl.
With their last regular season tournament starting tomorrow, the Blazers look for another four wins in the UW-Stout Invite to help finish out the season strong. They start out the tournament playing the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 5:30 p.m. tonight (Oct. 12), which is one of the few teams they have lost to this year. “If we come away with four wins it will really boost our confidence especially with a win over UW-Stevens Point who we've beaten once and lost to once this year,” said Stangl.
The Blazers face off against both Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls who are currently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the WIAC, respectively. “We've watched a little of UW-Stevens Point this year so that will help us. We know what we need to do and if we get it done and play our best we know that nobody can beat us,” said Kockelman. “It really helps to play the top teams in the WIAC because it will give us a better practice as we move on to play the top teams in the MIAC. There are many similarities between the top teams in both conferences.”
After this weekend's tournament, the Blazers go on to finish the season with a match against St. Scholastica and four consecutive MIAC matchups following. “We hope with four wins in the tournament, we can get the momentum to beat St. Scholastica and the upcoming MIAC teams. That would really help us a lot,” said Stangl.
The Blazers only have one more home game against MIAC rival Bethel University. Another MIAC win will really boost them as they look forward to the MIAC Tournament which starts at the end of the month.
