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St. Paul, Minn. - A fast start, and a strong push through the middle of the match were the difference today (Nov. 8), as the No. 24 Saint Benedict volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 first round sweep over Dominican in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“I was just proud of our effort, and all year long we've been able to win matches different ways and today was no different,” head coach Nicole Hess said after the game. “The first set went pretty easily for us and went our way, and the second set we had to kind of grind it out. But this group knows how to win and they know how to win a lot of ways.”

And with their win, they now move on to the second round where they will play at 4:30 p.m., Nov. 9 against Northwestern, who won in five over UW-Stevens Point.

The Blazers (28-5) made quick work of the Stars in the first set, winning 25-15, while racking up 14 kills on a .423 attack percentage.  The Blazers jumped out to an 8-1 lead on seven straight points, and never trailed in the first set. After the Stars got it to 18-12 late, the Blazers went on a 7-to-3 run to close out the 10-point win.

The Stars (24-9) – making the field after a third place finish in the Northern Athletics Conference – made them work a little harder in the second, holding a lead late before the Blazers went on a run to take the set 25-23, and go up 2-0 in the match. In a reversal from the first, Saint Benedict fell behind 4-1, and didn't take its first lead until back-to-back points from Lexi Alm gave the Blazers a 15-14 edge.

She first scored a kill to get the serve back to the Blazers, and then followed it up with an ace for the lead.

From there, the Blazers built up a 24-21 lead, but back-to-back points from the Stars made it 24-23 with DU on the serve. Chelsea Rachel answered with the biggest of her five kills on the day to take the set.

 “Dominican definitely came out in that second set and played better than they did in the first, and we had to counter that,” Hess said. “But for us, staying disciplined, staying consistent, and upping our energy was a big deal in that second set.”

“We knew that we had to pick our energy up, and coach was telling us that we need to pick it up and catch up with them,” Sophie Stangl said. “That we should have our energy above there's, but we didn't. So we knew we had to pick it up and finally we did.”

That consistency and energy carried over to the third set, where the Blazers used the momentum and again, never trailed on their way to the 25-18 win and first round sweep.

The win is their first in the NCAA Tournament since the 2008 regional final, and the first in her for head coach Nicole Hess. It also avenges their disappointing loss in the first round last season, where they also won the first set before eventually falling in five to St. Scholastica.

Sophie Stangl led the Blazers with 10 kills and a .346 attack percentage at the net, hitting double-digits for the 19th time on the season, and sixth straight match. Kendra Colman added nine kills with a career best .571 mark at the net, with Alm also knocking down nine kills.

Taya Kockelman added 36 assists, her 29th time on the season with over 30. Victoria Nass added 17 digs in the back row, with Alm adding 14 to just miss out on her 12th straight double-double of the season.
 
Now, after taking on an unknown in Dominican, the Blazers will face an old acquaintance in the second round in Northwestern, a team they have faced twice this season. A familiar opponent and the confidence built today leave the Blazers feeling good heading into tomorrow.

“It's kind of nice because we know what we have to do, and we know we can do to win,” Alm said.