ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team suffered its second conference loss of the season Saturday against St. Kate's at home by a score of 3-2. After losing the first two sets by scores of 25-19 and 25-21 respectively, the Blazers fought back to take a 25-14 win in the third set and a 25-15 win in the fourth set. From here, the two teams battled back and forth in the fifth set before the Wildcats finished with a 15-13 win to end the night.
In the first set, the Wildcats started the night with a 4-1 run. From here, they continued to extend their lead until they led the Blazers by a score of 21-15. The Wildcats finished off the set with a 25-19 win.
In the second set, the Blazers jumped ahead to an early 4-2 lead. The Wildcats quickly responded with a 6-1 run to take an 8-5 lead over the Blazers. The two teams battled back and forth and tied the game at 14-14. After a 4-1 run, the Wildcats led by a score of 18-15. The Wildcats led for the remainder of the set, and eventually took a 25-21 win.
The Blazers came out strong and took a 5-1 run to start the third set. They continued their success on both sides of the net and increased their lead throughout the set. After a 6-1 run late in the set, the Blazers took a 23-12 lead and finished with a 25-14 win.
In the fourth set, the Blazers took an early 8-1 lead. The continued to dominate the with a 7-1 run later in the set and went on to take a 25-15 win to force a fifth and final set.
The fifth set started with both teams volleying points back and forth. After the Blazers finally picked up a 5-2 lead, the Wildcats came back with a 3-0 run to tie the match a 5-5. The two teams continued to fight a very close set with no team taking more than a one-point lead. As the Blazers tied the score at 13-13, the ninth tie of the set, the Wildcats pushed through to take the next two points. With this win in the fifth set, the Wildcats walked away with a 3-2 win in the match.
Laura Schmitt led the offense with 18 kills and
Briana Schmiesing added another 12.
Megan Pekarek also finished with a hitting percentage of .471 and eight kills and totaled 41 assists on the night.
Meghan Koop led the defense with 29 digs and
Megan Barta added another 24.
Mary Franz also led the team with five blocks.
The Blazers will move on to face Hamline University on Wednesday, Oct. 14, in St. Paul. This game will start at 7 p.m. and will be the Blazers' last conference game before heading into the Eau Claire Tournament for a two-game break from conference play.
