St. Joseph, Minn. – The Blazers are in the Championship!
The Saint Benedict volleyball team won in straight sets against the Cobbers of Concordia tonight (Nov. 1). The Blazers were seeded second in the MIAC tournament and therefore received a bye. This game tonight against the number three seeded Cobbers was their first game in this post season and they did it in commanding fashion taking the three sets with scores of 25-22, 25-18, and 25-21.
Taya Kockelman, a sophomore out of Minneota, Minn, had a huge game with 39 assists (a number which surpassed the team total of 27 from the Cobbers) and also racked up nine digs. Also with a great night was
Sophie Stangl, the sophomore out of Buffalo, Minn. Stangl finished the night with a match-leading 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .579. It wasn't until late in third set when she recorded her first error.
Lexi Alm, one of three All-Conference Blazers, also had double digit kills with 11.
The Blazers came out of the gate with an early lead and only allowed the Cobbers to hold the lead for three short periods throughout the game, none of which were in the third set. The first set contained two lead changes early on but after the Blazers went up 9-8 on the Cobbers they didn't look back for the entire set, going on to win it with a score of 25-22. After scoring the first point of the second set the Cobbers never had the lead again. The Blazers then went on a 4-0 run, maintaining the lead for the rest of the set as well as the following set. The crowd in Claire Lynch Hall only grew louder as the Blazers continued to stretch their lead over the Cobbers. The Cobbers made several attempts to overcome the Blazers but their comebacks fell short.
With a win over fifth seeded Carleton, the University of St. Thomas will be the opposition for the Blazers. The MIAC championship will be held in St. Paul, Minn. as the first seeded Tommies are hosting. The winner of this game will move on to the NCAA tournament, but with the Tommies ranked first in the region and the Blazers ranked third, it is very likely that both the champion of the MIAC and the second place finisher will qualify for the NCAA tournament. The champion will receive an automatic bid and the loser will most likely receive an at-large bid.
“It's really awesome and we're really excited to have another chance against St. Thomas. We're just really excited that we got through today and played very well,” said
Lexi Alm after hearing that the Tommies won in five sets.
The last meeting between these rivals proved to be a challenge for the Blazers as they lost in straight sets on Sept. 22 but the Blazers have not lost since. The Blazers are on a 15 game win streak and are playing better than ever.
“I think we've gained a lot of confidence and a lot of experience and we have perfected things that we may have struggled with early on,” said head coach
Nicole Hess, stressing that her team was different than the team that played against St. Thomas the last time and that they needed to take it one step at a time. “It's a big game but it's no different than any other game. We have to do a better job of preparing for them this time and we really need to take care of what we need to do,” said Hess.
Saint Benedict returns to action at 7 p.m. on November 3, in St. Paul, Minn. as they take on top seeded St. Thomas.
Volleyball v Concordia Gallery
