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Royal Road Test: After a successful road trip last weekend, the No. 10 Saint Benedict volleyball team must stay on the road tonight (Oct. 9) as it returns to MIAC play. At 7 p.m., the Blazers (17-2, 3-2 MIAC) will be in St. Paul, Minn. to take on the Royals, who enter with all 9-12 record overall and a 2-3 mark in MIAC play.
About the Royals: Picked to finish eighth in the MIAC preseason coaches' poll, the Royals went 19-13 overall last season, and 6-5 in MIAC play. The year before however, they went 23-10 on the season with an 8-3 MIAC record, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They enter tonight on a five-match losing streak, which comes after winning their first two MIAC matches of the year in sweeps over Macalester and St. Catherine, respectively. Carlee Hoppe leads the offense and is ranked second in the MIAC with 3.81 kills per set. The Royals rank fifth in the MIAC as a team in kills per set, averaging 12.89.
Last Meeting: The two teams met in the second-to-last game of the season last year, with the Blazers taking a 3-1 win to lock up the second seed in the MIAC Tournament. The Blazers won 25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, in their home finale, and were led by
Sophie Stangl who set a career high with 19 kills. In a great all-around effort, the Blazers also got 50 assists from
Taya Kockelman in the win, and 31 digs from
Victoria Nass.
Who to Watch:
Taya Kockelman (Minneota, Minn.) continues to lead the NCAA in assists per set, posting 11.98 after last weekend. She also had 50 for the first time this season on Oct. 5, leading the Blazers to a win over UW-Eau Claire.
Lexi Rinde (Minnetonka, Minn.) led the offense last week, closing the trip with 32 kills and a .400 hitting percentage on Saturday, and she now has 203 on the season, and 903 in her career. Her hitting percentage of .379 is currently ranked second in the MIAC and 16
th in the country. Coming off her best match of the season is
Sophie Stangl (Buffalo, Minn.), who totaled 14 kills and a .367 hitting percentage in the win over UW-Eau Claire. Stangl currently ranks eighth in the MIAC in hitting percentage with a .298 mark for the year.
The Storyline: Can the Blazers take their momentum from the SMU Cardinal Invite and carry it forward to get back in the win column in the MIAC? With two losses already in league play, the Blazers will need to rack up wins and hope for some help to get back in the race over the final three weeks. Augsburg and St. Thomas still play each other, so one will lose at least once, but the Blazers are two games back in the win column when it comes to securing a first round bye, and hosting MIAC Tournament semifinal game.
Last Time Out: Last week started with a rough 3-0 loss to No. 3 St. Thomas, but the Blazers rebounded nicely to make a perfect run through the Saint Mary's Cardinal Invite. The Blazers won all three of their matches in Winona, including two by sweep. They hit .240 or better, while the defense held their opponents under .140 at the net.
