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Keep It Rolling: The No. 15 Saint Benedict volleyball team has now started their season with nine straight sweeps and victories in both the CSB Labor Day Tournament and the Whit Classic. They will look to continue their untarnished and 9-0 record as they head to St. Paul, Sept. 11, to face off against the University of Northwestern at 7 p.m.
About Northwestern: The Eagles are currently coming off two straight 3-0 losses against the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point. These losses dropped their record down to 1-7, as they will be looking to get out of an early slump in their season. Northwestern started their season off at the Blazer's home court in the CSB Labor Day tournament where they went 0-4, including a 3-0 loss to the Blazers. They were the picked to win the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) in the preseason, and are the defending conference champs. In 2012, they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to the Blazers in five sets.
Last Time: The Blazers and Eagles played in the second match of the season, which was a meeting of two teams who were each in the national polls at the time with the Blazers ranked No. 19 and the Eagles receiving votes. The Blazers played maybe their best match of the season for the win, connecting at a .440 clip at the net with 48 total kills in just three sets. They made just eight errors, getting 14 kills from
Lexi Alm (Forest Lake, Minn.) and nine each from
Chelsea Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn.) and
Lexi Rinde (Minnetonka, Minn.). The Blazer defense racked up 31 digs and held the Eagles to just a .176 attack percentage. The win was the Blazers' second straight in their rivalry with the Eagles, after previously falling three straight times.
The Storyline: After their early success, the Blazers are looking to put another win under their belt, as they get closer to the middle of the season and the start of conference play. The Blazers are currently ranked No. 15 in the country and will continue to climb the ranks with each new win. As of now, the Blazers are the only remaining undefeated team in the MIAC, which puts them in first place in the conference. A win against the Eagles and St. Scholastica later in the week will be a huge momentum builder as they move on to five straight MIAC matchups.
Who to Watch: The Blazers have put up some big numbers this season and currently lead the MIAC in team hitting percentage at .277. Besides the teams overall success, they've also had many individual leaders on the court. Rinde holds the third place spot in the MIAC right now with a hitting percentage of .386 while Alm is second in the conference in service aces per set with .71. On top of that,
Taya Kockelman (Minneota, Minn.) is also second in the MIAC with 11.25 assists per set.
Mary Franz (Broomfield, Colo.) has contributed greatly to her team's offensive success with a hitting percentage of .336 and 2.09 kills per set. Rachel is leading the Blazers defensively with 94 digs and averages 3.92 digs per set.
Last Time Out: In their last time out, the Blazers swept through the Whit Classic Tournament in Spokane, Wash, where they let up an average of under 17 points per set and added four more wins to their perfect record. The Blazers clearly dominated this tournament and finished with a MIAC Player of the Week in Kockelman. The Blazers next home game will be held this Saturday (Sept. 14) at 3 p.m. in Claire Lynch Hall.
