ST. PAUL, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team was hoping history wouldn't repeat itself Thursday night at the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Blazers opened the tournament against UW-Stevens Point – the same team that knocked them out of the tournament in the second round in 2013. The two teams had already met once in 2014, with the Pointers coming out on top 3-2 in a close, hard-fought match, and CSB went into Thursday's game looking to defeat Stevens Point and even out the series record.
 
But the Pointers showed how they earned the No. 6 ranking in Division III, and, once again, ended the Blazers' season. Stevens Point defeated Saint Benedict 3-0 in a first-round NCAA Tournament game on the St. Thomas campus in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Saint Benedict ends the season 21-10 overall. This marks the fourth straight year CSB has made it to the national tournament, with their best finish coming in 2012 when they reached the Sweet 16. The Blazers also made it to the MIAC semifinal match, and won 20 or more games for the third straight season.
 
Thursday's match also ends an impressive career for the Blazers' seven seniors: Taya Kockelman, Sophie Stangl, Lexi Rinde, Bailey Rykken, Callie Neumann, Victoria Nass and Kelly Davenport. In four seasons they have four trips to the NCAA Tournament, four appearances in the MIAC tournament and a 95-33 overall record.
 
All three sets were close Thursday night, but the Pointers (30-4) were able to edge CSB in all three. Stevens Point won 25-20, 25-21 and 25-22. In the first set the Pointers pulled away and led 12-7, but a pair of kills by Mary Franz and a pair of UWSP attack errors got CSB within two, 14-12. A kill by Stangl and another Pointer attack error tied the game at 17, but Stevens Point responded with a kill and a service aces to go up 19-17. A kill by Rinde tied the game at 20, but UWSP scored the next five points to hold on for the win.
 
Stevens Point jumped to a 6-3 lead in the second set, but Stangl had a kill, the Pointers had two attack errors and Gabi Narvaez had a service aces to make it 9-6 in favor of the Blazers. Stevens Point tied the game at 11 and then pushed its lead to 17-13, but Rykken had a pair of kills and Davenport had a service ace to tie the game at 18. A kill by Laura Schmitt made it 21-20, but that's as close as the Blazers would get as the Pointers closed out the set by scoring four of the next five points.
 
Saint Benedict was down by as many as nine points, 21-12, midway through the third and final set, but Rinde and Rykken had kills and Schmitt a service ace to make it 21-16. Rykken had back-to-back kills to make it 23-18, and a pair of Stevens Point attack errors made it a three-point game, 23-20. Rykken had one final kill to make it 24-22, but a service error ended the match.
 
Rinde finished with a team-high eight kills for the Blazers and Schmitt and Rykken each had seven. Kockelman finished with 26 assists in the last match of her career and Nass had 22 digs. Schmitt also had 15 digs, Kockelman finished with 17 and Gabi Narvaez had eight.
 
Emma Brunkhorst led the Pointers with 13 kills and Tiffany Stargardt had 10. Alexis Hartman had 30 assists and 14 digs and Hannah Picel had 18 digs. Stargardt and Marie Krengel each added 14 digs.
 
Stevens Point moves on to play the winner of Thursday night's Coe/St. Thomas match at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, in the second round of the tournament.