ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team suffered a very close 3-2 loss to Gustavus Adolphus College Saturday. After CSB won the first two sets of the day, the Gusties, who are ranked No. 1 in the MIAC and are on a 23-match winning streak, came back to take the last three sets and finish the night with their ninth conference win this season. The Blazers now sit with an overall record of 15-8 and are 6-3 in conference play.
In the first set, the Blazers took a 25-23 win. After a 4-1 start, the Blazers kept the lead until the Gusties tied the score at 8-8. From here, the two teams battled back and forth with five different ties until the Gusties pulled ahead to a 15-13 lead. The Blazers then responded with a 6-1 run to put score at 19-16. They continued to fight hard to keep their lead until the end of the set and jumped ahead 1-0 in the match.
In the next set, the Gusties started with a 7-2 run to take an early lead. As they sat with an 11-6 lead, the Blazers came back with a 5-0 run to tie the set at 11-11. After another 5-1 run, the Blazers took a 16-14 lead. The Gusties responded and went on to take a 19-18 lead over the Blazers, who pushed through the end of the set to take a 25-21 win.
The third set started close until the Gusties pulled ahead with an 11-6 lead. After a 4-0 run by the Blazers, the score sat at 11-10 in favor of Gustavus before the Blazers tied the set at 14-14. Both teams continued to battle back and forth until the end of the set as the Gusties finished with a 25-21 win.
In the fourth set, the Blazers kept a close score and tied the set at 4-4. The Gusties then pulled ahead with a 7-0 run to put the score at 11-4. The Blazers then responded and set the score at 13-14 before tying the set at 19-19. After tying the set at 21-21, the Gusties took a 4-1 run to take a 25-22 win in the set to force the fifth and final set.
The Blazers jumped ahead to a 3-0 lead in the fifth set until the Gusties came back to force a 5-5 tie. From here, the two teams volleyed points back and forth and after eight different ties, the score sat at 12-12. The Gusties then pulled ahead with a 3-0 run to take the 15-12 win and walked away with their undefeated conference streak still intact.
Laura Schmitt led the Blazers with 15 kills and a career-high 29 digs as
Lauren Mathews added another 13 kills and four blocks.
Megan Pekarek also finished the night with 11 kills and 48 assists.
Meghan Koop totaled 30 digs – a new career high – and walked away with eight kills.
Mary Franz added 10 kills and finished the night with four blocks.
The Blazers will move on to faceoff against Augsburg College for their final road match of the season. The two teams will play in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. This will be the Blazers' second to last match of the season and they will be looking to finish with another conference win as they head home for their final match of the season next week.
