Live Stats and VideoST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team returns home after finishing a 1-1 trip to Eau Claire for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Tournament. The Blazers come home to face off against the College of St. Scholastica for their final nonconference match of the season. The two teams face off in Claire Lynch Hall at 7 p.m.
About the Saints: The Saints currently sit with a record of 13-10 and have gone 3-2 in conference play this season. After starting the season with two wins over UW-River Falls and Hamline, the Saints dropped four straight games at the UNW Labor Day Tournament. From here, they went on to win four consecutive wins at the UW-Oshkosh Pizza Hut Classic. The Saints will be heading into this match after going 2-3 in their last five matches, including a 3-1 loss to Concordia.
Last Year: The Blazers hit the road in their match against the Saints last season, and took a 3-0 win after starting the night with a 25-22 win in the first set. They went on to take a 25-20 win in the second set, followed by a 25-12 win in the third set.
Laura Schmitt led the Blazers offense with 11 kills and
Mary Franz added another seven. Schmitt also finished with 12 digs and
Gabi Narvaez finished with six.
The Storyline: The Blazers are looking to capitalize on their final nonconference game of the season with hopes of building up more momentum after suffering a 3-1 loss to UWEC in their last match. They also look to use their home-court advantage as they will play at home for three of their final four games of the season. The Saints are also playing their final nonconference match of the season and will look to build a winning streak as they head into the end of their regular season.
Who to Watch: Schmitt currently leads the Blazers with 299 kills and sits at fourth place in the MIAC with 3.60 kills per set.
Lauren Mathews also sits with 1.99 kills per set, and sits at fifth place in the MIAC with .88 blocks per set.
Megan Pekarek leads the MIAC with 9.43 assists per set and
Meghan Koop sits with a team-high of 336 digs.
Last Time Out: In their last match, the Blazers suffered a tough 3-1 loss against UW-Eau Claire. In the first set, the Blugolds took a 25-23 win before falling to the Blazers in the second set by a score of 25-17. The Blugolds went on to take a 25-17 win in the third set and finished the night with a 25-21 win in the fourth set.
Briana Schmiesing led the Blazers with 13 kills – which tied a career high – as Schmitt added another 10. Pekarek finished the night with 34 assists and
Megan Barta led the defense with 18 digs.
