By
Leah Rado, Athletic Media Relations Director
Millikin Box Score |
Washington-St. Louis Box ScoreELMHURST, Ill. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team dropped a pair of five-set thrillers in the first day of the Elmhurst Invitational Friday afternoon in Elmhurst, Ill.
Saint Ben's (8-4), which entered the tournament on a six-match winning streak, lost 3-2 to Millikin University, and lost another five-set match to Washington-St. Louis, which is ranked No. 7 in the NCAA Division III. All four of the Blazers' opponents in Illinois are ranked; two are receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll and two are in the top 15.
Washington-St. Louis won the first two sets in the Blazers' final match of the night Friday, but CSB fought back to win sets three and four before falling in set five. The Bears won the first two sets 25-18 and 26-24, but CSB won the next two 25-19 and 28-26. Washington-St. Louis jumped to a 6-1 lead in the fifth and final set, and held on for a 15-7 win to seal the victory.
Laura Schmitt led the Blazer offense with 13 kills.
Sophie Stangl and
Lexi Rinde each added 12 for CSB, which had 58 total kills. Senior setter
Taya Kockelman finished with 43 assists and nine kills, and she also had 18 digs.
Victoria Nass paced the defense with 28 digs,
Gabi Narvaez chipped in with 19, Schmitt finished with 15 digs and
Kelly Davenport added 10.
The Blazers started the day with a 3-2 loss to Millikin, which is the first team listed in the receiving votes section of the latest AVCA Division III poll. Saint Ben's won the first set 25-20, but Millikin (11-2) came back to win the second 25-17. The Blazers held on for a 25-23 win in set three to take a 2-1 lead, but Millikin came back to win set four 26-24 and set five 15-11 to come away with the win.
Saint Benedict finished the match with 60 total kills. Stangl led the way with 15 kills and Schmitt added 14.
Mary Franz added 11 kills for CSB. Kockelman had 50 assists and Nass paced the defense with 13 digs. Schmitt added 11 digs and Davenport chipped in with nine.
The Blazers return to action at 11 a.m. Saturday against Chicago, which is receiving votes in the AVCA poll. Saint Benedict ends the weekend at 3 p.m. against host-school Elmhurst, ranked No. 13 in the NCAA Division III.
