BOSTON, Mass. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team proved it can play with absolutely anyone Friday night.
CSB played two top-15 teams – and led both at one point in each of their matches – but lost both 3-2. The first match of the night was against No. 3 Christopher Newport, and the second was against No. 12 Eastern University, both at the UMass-Boston Tournament in Boston, Mass.
The Blazers were one point away from handing No. 3 Christopher Newport its first loss of the season in CSB's first game of the tournament. After losing the first set 25-19, CSB came back to win tight second and third sets 31-29 and 27-25. The Blazers led 24-23 in the fourth set thanks to a kill from
Mary Franz, but CNU fought back to win 28-26 and then won the deciding fifth set 15-12.
CSB was down 22-16 in the second set, but a pair of kills from
Lauren Mathews and several CNU attack errors put the Blazers back in it.
Laura Schmitt and
Megan Pekarek each added a kill, and a
Meghan Koop kill made it 29-28, but Christopher Newport tied the game with a kill of its own.
CSB went up 30-29 on a CNU error, and won 31-29 thanks to a kill from Mathews. The third set was just as close with the two teams going back and forth, but a service error and attack error after a
Megan Barta kill gave CSB the victory.
Franz's kill late in the fourth set put CSB up 24-23, but CNU rebounded with a kill to tie the game. Christopher Newport took a 27-26 lead on a Blazer attack error and won the match on a second straight attack error.
Schmitt finished with a season-high 20 kills, just three shy of her career high. She also added 18 digs and three block assists. Koop and Mathews each added nine kills, and Koop and
Megan Barta each led the defense with 19 digs.
Gabi Narvaez and
Megan Pekarek each had 15 digs, and Pekarek had 45 digs for the CSB offense. Mathews had six block assists and three solo blocks and Pekarek also had five block assists.
In its second game of the night, CSB took a 2-0 lead over No. 12 Eastern thanks to 25-20 and 25-22 wins. The third set went back and forth, and a kill by Franz put the Blazers up 26-25, but Eastern used a service error, a kill and a CSB attack error to win 28-26. Eastern won the fourth set 25-14, and the two teams battled again in the fifth and final set. CSB led 14-10 after an Eastern attack error, but Eastern battled back to tie the game at 14, and won the match on a pair of kills.
Schmitt finished with 19 kills and 19 digs, Barta led the team with 22 digs and Koop had nine kills and 13 digs. Narvaez added 18 digs and Pekarek had 43 assists.
The Blazers return to action at 10 a.m. CDT and 2 p.m. CDT Saturday, Sept. 12 at the UMass Tournament. CSB plays host-school UMass at 10 a.m. and Tufts, which is receiving votes, at 2 p.m.
