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NCAA Tournament: With a very tough loss against No. 4 St. Thomas in the MIAC championship, the Saint Benedict volleyball team has climbed another notch in the national rankings and currently sits at No. 6 in the country. The Blazers will look to capitalize on this national recognition with a win in the first round of the NCAA tournament today (Nov. 14) in their match against Cornell College at 12:30 p.m.
Tickets: Prices are $7 for adults and $4 for students per day. No MIAC passes will be accepted.
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About the Rams: The Rams had a very successful regular season this year and finished with an overall record of 28-3. Currently ranked No. 20 in the country, the Rams started out their season with a record of 2-2 before going on a 10-game winning streak. After one more loss to Emory University, the Rams went through all of October without a loss and have continued this streak up to the NCAA tournament. The Rams will be facing the Blazers with 16 consecutive wins and having won 26 of their last 27 matches.
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Last year at the NCAA Tournament: Last year, the Blazers went into this tournament ranked No. 24 and took an early 3-0 win against Dominican University. After starting the match with a 25-15 win, the Blazers went on to capture a first round victory with 25-23 and 25-18 wins. From here, the Blazers went on to face off against Northwestern where they took a 3-2 win. This match stayed close throughout all the sets. After starting with two set losses, the Blazers responded with a 25-16 win in the third set and followed up with a 25-21 win to go into a tiebreaker where they finished the night with a 15-10 win. The Blazers then went on to face St. Thomas in the third round where they lost 3-1. The Blazers took an early 1-0 lead with a close 25-23 win in the first set before the Tommies responded with three straight wins.
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The Storyline: After reaching the third round last year while being ranked No. 24, the Blazers will be looking forward to advancing even farther at No. 6. The Rams have also gained a lot of momentum throughout the second half of their season and will be coming out strong looking to continue their season. This will be a very heated match, as both teams will be fighting to extend their seasons and move on to face the best teams in the country.
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Who to Watch:
Lexi Rinde (Minnetonka, Minn.) continues her offensive success this season and leads the team with 328 kills and a hitting percentage of .318 on the year. The Blazers will be looking to set Rinde up all tournament to gain as many opportunities as possible.
Chelsea Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn.) leads the team defensively with 349 digs and is second on the team with 40 service aces this season.
Lexi Alm (Stacy, Minn.) has also racked up 300 kills this season and leads the team with 54 aces along with a third place spot on the team with 330 digs.
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Last Time Out: In their last time out, the Blazers suffered a tough 3-2 loss against the No. 4 Tommies in the MIAC championship. The Blazers started the night with a 25-19 win in the first set, but the Tommies came back to take a 25-10 win to tie the match at 1-1. From here, the Blazers took another set win by a score of 25-16 before the Tommies came back with a 25-15 win to tie the match again. In the tiebreaker, the Tommies pushed through to finish with a 15-11 win in the final set of the night to take first place in the MIAC championship.
