Duluth, Minn. – The Saint Benedict volleyball team stayed right in step tonight (Oct. 16), posting a 3-0 road sweep over host St. Scholastica in non conference action. The Blazers took the match by set scores of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-19.
The Blazers improve to 22-4 on the season, their third highest win total since the year 2000, behind only 29 in 2008 and 26 in 2009. The Saints meanwhile fall to 13-10, and have their four-match winning streak snapped.
The closest set of the night came in the third, where the two teams combined for six lead changes with 10 tie scores. The tables finally turned for good in the Blazer's favor on a kill from
Chelsea Rachel, starting a run of four straight points that turned a 17-16 deficit into a 20-17 lead and gave CSB the lead for good.
The play was followed by an ace, a kill from
Sophie Stangl and an attack error from the Saints. Stangl finished with 11 kills on the night, joined by
Lexi Alm with a team high 14 and Alexa Rinde with 10.
The Saints were led by Anna Zyvoloski with 17, their only player in double figures.
Alm also added 16 digs on the night, charting her 16th double-double of the season, while Rinde – the reigning MIAC Player of the Week – hit double-digits for the 14th time on the year, and sixth time in the last eight matches.
The Blazers pulled away late in the first to take what was – for the most part – a close set, 25-19, and then carried that momentum into the second where they ran out to a 12-4 on their way to a 25-18 win.
The Blazer defense held the Saint attack to just a .169 mark at the net buoyed by their 70 digs and season high 16 block assists. Leading that charge was Rachel with 20 digs and
Kendra Coleman with a career high seven block assists.
Now winners of 10 straight and 16 of their last 17, they are in the midst of the best run in the
Nicole Hess era. Also, after seeing their run of 15 consecutive set wins snapped in a five-set win over then No. 19 ranked UW-Stevens Point, they have come right back to win 13 straight sets after tonight.
They will now close out the season exclusively with MIAC games, starting with two this weekend traveling to Carleton at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 and at Gustavus at 3 p.m., Oct. 20. At 6-1 and second in conference play, the 2012 MIAC regular season title is still within reach as they sit just a game behind league-leading St. Thomas.
