By Teddy Menor

Live Stats | Live Video

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After a 3-0 sweep over Augsburg Wednesday night, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team heads to St. Paul Saturday, Sept. 27, to face off against St. Catherine for its third MIAC game of the season. The match at 3 p.m. as the Blazers hope to improve on their 2-0 conference record.
 
About the Wildcats: The St. Catherine volleyball team currently sits in 11th in the MIAC with a record of 9-9. The Wildcats started the season with a 6-1 record before losing four straight games. St. Kate's is 0-2 in the conference after a 3-1 loss to Gustavus and a 3-2 loss to St. Olaf.
 
Last Year: The last time the two teams met, the Blazers walked away with a 3-0 win. The Blazers started the night with a 25-7 win in the first set and continued with 25-14 and 25-16 wins. Lexi Rinde led the offense with 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .529 and Victoria Nass added another 15 digs to her team's defensive success.
 
The Storyline: The Blazers started to rebuild their momentum with a sweep of Augsburg, and look to continue that success against another MIAC team. With a 2-0 conference record, the Blazers are in good shape going into five consecutive MIAC matchups. A win Saturday would give CSB an extra push through this conference streak, which includes a match against St. Thomas.
 
Who to Watch: Laura Schmitt currently leads the Blazers with 158 kills this season with Mary Franz adding another 126. Franz also leads the team with 42 total blocks. Taya Kockelman is leading the MIAC with 10.75 assists per set and Victoria Nass sits in third place in the MIAC with 288 digs.
 
Last Time Out: In their last time out, the Blazers extended their record to 10-5 with a 3-0 win over the Auggies. They started the night out strong with a big 25-10 win. The Auggies kept the two remaining sets much closer as the Blazers finished the night with a 25-23 win in the second set and a 27-25 win in the third and final set. The Blazers played great offense with four players tallying eight or more kills. Schmitt led the team with 14 kills and 20 digs, Rinde totaled another 13 kills and Baily Rykken added 11. Nass also led the defense with 31 digs. As a team, CSB had 104 total digs.