By Teddy Menor

Millikin Live Stats | Washington-St. Louis Live Stats | Chicago Live Stats | Elmhurst Live Stats
 
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The Saint Benedict volleyball team followed up a successful start to the nonconference season with a huge 3-0 sweep against Macalester in its MIAC opener Wednesday. The team will be looking to use this momentum as it faces off against some of the best teams in the country at the Elmhurst Invitational in Elmhurst, Ill.  The Blazers will start this tournament with a game against Millikin at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19.
 
About the Big Blue: Millikin started their season off with seven straight wins before losing their first game to Juniata College. From here, the Big Blue went 3-1 at the Depauw Tournament and currently sit with a 10-2 record.  Audrey Krajec leads the team with 199 kills and Christina Capuani leads the defense with 152 digs. Millikin dropped out of the national polls this past week.
 
About the Bears: Washington-St. Louis currently stands with a 12-2 record and is ranked seventh in the NCAA Division III.  Its first loss of the season came to No. 21 Nebraska-Wesleyan. After five more wins, the Bears suffered a 3-2 loss to fifth-ranked Cal Lutheran.  Since then, the Bears have won five straight games, including a 3-1 win against top- ranked Calvin. Nkiru Udenze leads the team with 129 kills and Cassie Wang has already racked up 302 set assists this season. Kalehua Katagiri leads the defense with 233 digs.
 
About the Maroons: Chicago started its season strong with a 10-4 record against nonconference teams. After a tough 1-3 record in the Elmhurst Invitational, it went on to win nine of its last ten games with the only loss coming from the No. 1-ranked Hope University.  Maren Loe leads the Maroons' offense with 211 kills and Elrene Kim leads the team with 242 digs.
 
About the Bluejays: The Elmhurst College volleyball team is currently No. 13 in the NCAA Division III. With a record of 11-1, the Bluejays are currently on an eight-game winning streak. Their only loss this came to Coe College, which currently sits at No. 22 in the national rankings. Sam Szarmach leads the Bluejays with 152 kills and Peggy Clemons leads the defense with 128 kills.
 
Who to Watch: Senior Taya Kockelman is leading the MIAC and is fifth in the NCAA Division III with 11.06 assists per set. Mary Franz is also in fourth place in the MIAC with 0.88 blocks per set and is in second on the team with 93 kills. Callie Neumann is fourth in the MIAC with a hitting percentage of .342 and Bailey Rykken sits in fifth with a .337 hitting percentage.
 
Last Time Out: The Blazers kicked off the MIAC season with a 3-0 sweep of Macalester. CSB made quick work of the Scots, winning 25-9, 25-6 and 25-13. Bailey Rykken finished with 12 kills and Laura Schmitt had 11.