St. Joseph, Minn. – The third-seeded Saint Benedict volleyball team (25-2, 10-2 MIAC) started the MIAC postseason tournament with a win today (Nov. 5), by way of a three-set victory (25-19, 25-19, 25-16) over the sixth-seed Hamline University Pipers (19-13, 6-6 MIAC). The Blazers advance to face No. 2 seed Augsburg in the MIAC playoff semifinals this Thursday.
 
The Blazers jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead in the first set and never trailed, eventually winning the set 25-19. With the Blazers up 20-15 in the set, junior outside hitter Lexi Rinde (Minnetonka, Minn.) took a set from junior setter Taya Kockelman (Minneota, Minn.) and used it to record the 1,000th kill of her Blazer career. She is the 12th Blazer in program history to join the 1,000 Kill club. Rinde hit .455 in that set, and led the Blazers with five kills.
 
The second set featured back and forth action between both teams that resulted in five tie scores and three lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the way, until the Blazers led 19-17 late in the set. They promptly used a 6-to-2 run to close out the set victory (25-19) and take a two set lead over the Pipers.
 
Senior outside hitter Lexi Alm (Stacy, Minn.) started serving the third set, and helped the Blazers roll to a 4-0 lead. Later in the set junior defensive specialist Kelly Davenport (Lakeville, Minn.) served up three straight service aces en route to extending the Blazers lead to 10-3. The Blazers used a balanced attack to dominate the rest of the way, winning the set by a 25-16 margin.
 
The Blazers stepped up to deny Pipers with 11 blocks in the game, the most blocks they've had in a three-set match this year. Sophomore middle-blocker Mary Franz (Broomfield, Colo.) made up a major part of that Blazer brick wall, with eight blocks in the match (three solo, five assisted). Those eight blocks tie a season high for her. Franz also led the team with an efficient .462 hitting percentage.
 
Rinde led the Blazers with 10 kills, her 19th game with double-digit kills this season.
 
The Blazers will continue their playoff run this Thursday when they will travel to Minneapolis to play second-seed Augsburg. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.