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St. Paul, Minn. – To say it wasn't the start you wanted would be an understatement. But a poor start leaves the opportunity for a memorable comeback, and that was an opportunity that the No. 24 Saint Benedict volleyball team seized tonight (Nov. 9).

“It was just a back and forth battle,” head coach Nicole Hess said after the game. "Going down 0-2 was a tough situation. We just really focused on one at a time, as far as points and sets, and coming back in that fourth set and hanging in there and grinding it out was huge. And I think were we able to get the momentum and I think that carried us in set five.”

After going down 2-0, the Blazers (29-5) climbed all the way back for a 3-2 win over Northwestern, and advance to the NCAA Regional Final. The win avenges a pair of setbacks to the Eagles earlier in the season, as Northwestern was responsible for two of the Blazers five losses.

“I'm really excited,” sophomore libero Victoria Nass said. “That was a big game for us, coming back from being down the first two. And to come back and win it, just makes it that much sweeter.”

Not to be overlooked either, is the fact that tonight Nass became the CSB single season digs record holder. After her 26 tonight she now has 740 on the season, breaking the old mark of 726.

Now Saint Benedict will move to face tournament host and No. 8 ranked St. Thomas at 7 p.m., Nov. 10. The Tommies made quick work of UW-Eau Clarie tonight in a 3-0 sweep.

Northwestern (27-9) could do no wrong in the first two sets, winning 25-22 and 25-20. Their numbers on the attack were modest but effective, hitting .102 and .283 in the two sets respectively. The difference, though, was their block, one that time and time again came up with big points to lead the way.

The Eagles finished with 21.5 total blocks on the night, easily the most for a Blazer opponent this season. They were led by Tiji Rudzitis who finished with 12 in the match.

“I think we just had to get used to a really big block like theirs," sophomore outside hitter Alexa Rinde said. "They're very good players and we just had find different ways to get around it and we did.”

The first set loss was a first for the Blazers since they lost to St. Thomas way back on Sept. 22, and the win after going down 2-0 was a first all season.

The proverbial switch flipped somewhere between the end of the second set and the beginning of the third. And it resulted in a 7-to-1 Blazer run to open the set, one where they wound never trail. After a going up 11-3, the Eagles began to rally, looking to get back some of the momentum they had early in the match.

They rattled off six straight to get within two at 11-9, but Taya Kockelman answered with win of her nine kills to get the serve back to the Blazers. In addition to her 49 assists on the night – just missing her eighth 50-assist night – she became an extra weapon in the front row adding quick kills to get around the Eagle block.

After Kockelman put the Blazers up 12-9, they went on a 14-to-5 run to close the set and win 25-16, surviving for at least one more.

“I think we just had to keep our heads up, we knew that they were going to get points, we were going to get points,” Nass said. “We just had to stay confident and know that we could do it.”

That same magic carried over to the fourth, where a late Blazer rally made the difference, but this time came from behind to do so. A nearly even match started to swing the Eagles way, as they went up 18-14 after a four-point run.

But a perfectly-timed timeout call by head coach Nicole Hess resulted in six straight points for Saint Benedict as they went up 20-18. Northwestern got back within one, but could get no closer as the Blazers closed out the 25-21 win with an 11-to-3 run.

Then in the fifth, the Blazers rode that wave to an 8-5 lead as they switched sides, and an 11-5 edge at their biggest margin. Nine kills in the fifth set carried CSB to the win, as they hit .316 for their best mark of the night.

It was only fitting that final point came on a kill from Lexi Alm, as she finished with 20 in the night, coming off an incredible 85 swings. Right behind was Rinde, as the two carried the offense during the comeback s each did the bulk of their damage in the final three sets.

“This is a special group of players and I told them after the game couldn't be more proud of them,” Hess said. “They just were really, really determined to outwork them and find a way, and that's what we did, we found a way.”

And to make it to next weeked, they will have to find a way one more time, but the formula should be simple. It's the same one that has them where the already are.

“Just keep playing hard, it's fun! We're in the Sweet Sixteen!” an excited Rinde said. “At this point it's just keep playing our game keep pushing for it and keep working hard.”