Live Stats (vs CNU, UMass and Tufts) | Live Video (vs UMass only)

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team is taking its two-match winning streak to the East Coast this weekend for four matches at the University of Massachusetts-Boston tournament. The Blazers, who improved to 2-2 with a sweep of Morris Tuesday, hope to use that momentum as they take on three ranked teams Friday and Saturday.
 
The Schedule
Friday: CSB vs No. 3 Christopher Newport, 3 p.m. CDT
CSB vs No. 12 Eastern, 5 p.m. CDT
Saturday: CSB vs UMass Boston, 10 a.m. CDT
CSB vs (RV) Tufts, 2 p.m. CDT
 
About Christopher Newport
The Captains jumped to No. 3 in the latest AVCA poll after starting the season 5-0. CNU has won all five matches by sweep, and are led by Briana Sutton, who has 66 kills and 4.40 kills per set. Rachel Conway leads the team with 175 assists and Rachel Close has 43 assists.
 
About Eastern
Eastern is also 5-0 and ranked No. 12 in Division III. Three of Easterns' five wins have come by sweep. Three players have at least 40 kills for Eastern, and Erin Hillman leads the team with 46 kills in 14 sets. Rikki Schlager has 182 assists and Rylie Haas has 94 digs.
 
About UMass
The Beacons are the only not-ranked team CSB faces in Boston. UMass is 1-4, including a 1-3 stint at the Elmhurst Invitational last weekend. The team's win came against Fontbonne University. Eileen Shi leads the team with 45 kills, Pepper Baker has 111 assists and Elizabeth Glavan has 65 digs.
 
About Tufts
The Jumbos are 1-0 and are receiving votes in the latest DIII poll. Tuft's only game before the tournament was against Springfield, and the Jumbos won 3-0. Mary Maccabee had 10 kills, Angela Yu and Kyra Baum split time at setter and Maddie Kuppe finished with 11 digs.
 
The Storyline
CSB picked up its second straight win Tuesday when it swept Morris 3-0. The Blazers, who are very young with eight first years on their roster, also defeated Loras 3-1 and gave No. 25 Coe a run for its money in a 3-2 loss at the Northwestern Tournament his past weekend. Laura Schmitt leads the team with 45 kills and is second with 61 digs. Sophomore setter Megan Pekarek has 119 assists and junior Meghan Koop leads CSB with 69 digs. Pekarek is fourth in the MIAC with 7.93 assists per set.