St. Paul, Minn. – The Saint Benedict volleyball team posted a 3-1 win over Macalester in the regular season finale tonight (Oct. 29), coming back from a first-set loss to do so.
 
With the win, the Blazers (24-2, 9-2 MIAC) close the regular season on a 10-match winning streak, and clinch at least a third place finish in the final conference standings. If St. Thomas loses to Saint Mary's on Saturday, the Blazers would climb to a second place tie with the Tommies and the Augsburg-Concordia loser.
 
Regardless of what happens around the conference the rest of the week, the Blazers know they will be at home on Tuesday (Nov. 5) to host a quarterfinal game in the MIAC tournament. All that's to be determined is whether it will be against Saint Mary's or Hamline.
 
In tonight's action though, the Blazers rebounded from a 25-20 loss in the first set to take the next three 25-15, 25-16 and 25-22 to hand the host Scots (13-14, 4-7 MIAC) their third straight loss.
 
After hitting .000 in the first set, the Blazers came back with 15 kills in each of the next three sets, and hit .340 through the rest of the match, including a .414 mark in the third with just three errors to go up 2-1.
 
Then in the fourth, the Blazers fought off a five-point run from the Scots late in the match, as they closed out the win. A Taya Kockelman (Minneota, Minn.) kill finally ended the rally, before Kockelman and Sophie Stangl (Bufallo, Minn.) teamed up for a block on the next point to win the set.
 
It was a game of runs throughout, starting with a seven-point streak by Macalester in the first that gave them a lead they would never lose. Then in the second, the tables turned, as the Blazers ran off four straight early in the set to take a lead they'd never relinquish.
 
Then in the deciding fourth set, the Blazers scored seven straight to go from down one to up six on the way to the win.
 
Lexi Alm (Stacy, Minn.) and Lexi Rinde (Minnetonka, Minn.) each finished with 14 kills to lead the offense, with Rinde charting her 14^th .300 attack night of the season, finishing at .308. Her career total now stands at 995, and she will have a chance to collect number 1,000 in front of her home crowd next week. Alm, meanwhile, improved her total to 1,265 and moves into the top-five all-time at CSB, passing former teammate Chelsie Sobieck who ended her career in 2011 with 1,252.
 
Alm also added 10 digs for her 13th double-double of the season, while Victoria Nass (Faribault, Minn.) led the defense with 16 digs. Chelsea Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn.) just missed a double-double with 12 digs and nine kills.
 
The Blazers will now relax as the rest of the conference plays out the string the rest of the week, including the rest of the playoff field. After a full week off, they will host the MIAC Quarterfinals, at 7 p.m., Nov. 5 in Claire Lynch Hall.