St. Paul, Minn. – The Saint Benedict volleyball team continued to roll tonight (Sept. 11) with its 10th consecutive win to open the season, downing host Northwestern 3-1 in four sets.
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The Eagles (1-8) may have been the first team to take a set from the Blazers (10-0) this season – winning the second 25-21 – but it proved to be a moot point when CSB came right back in the third winning 25-15. The third set was buoyed by their defense, as the Blazers held the Eagles to a -.143 attack percentage with 10 errors and just five kills.
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The Blazers came out screaming in the third set, running out to a 16-6 lead and never looked back.
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They then bookended the match with a 25-22 win in the fourth, after opening with a 25-20 win in the first set. It was a back and forth match all night, as the two teams saw 22 tie scores and 10 lead changes.
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Chelsea Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn.) led the way with a career high 15 kills, charting the highest total for any Blazer this season. She was joined in double digits by Lexi Alm (Forest Lake, Minn.) with 14.
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After the Eagles ran off five straight points in the fourth set to close within a point with the Blazers holding a slim 22-21 lead, it was Rachel who knocked down her 14th and 15th kills to put the Blazers up to 24 and on the verge of the win.
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Reigning MIAC Setter of the Week Taya Kockelman (Minneota, Minn.) handed out a season high 48 assists, setting the offense to a season high 56 kills. She also finished the night with a career high seven block assists, including on the final point of the game to close out the Blazer win.
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Overall on the night the Blazers held the Eagles to a .080 attack percentage, the sixth time in 10 matches they've held their opponent under the .100 mark. Conversely, the Blazers hit .193 - under their MIAC leading average of .264 - but they made up for it with their defense, paced by season highs of 71 digs and 22 block assists.
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The Blazers will look to make it lucky No. 11 when they return home this weekend to host St. Scholastica at 3 p.m. on Sept. 14 in Claire Lynch Hall.