Live Stats/VideoST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team continued its winning streak and pushed it to seven games with a win over Macalester Wednesday night. After winning 21 of their last 26 sets, the Blazers are heading home Friday, Sept. 25 to face off against Bethel University in at 7:30 p.m. in Claire Lynch Hall.
About the Royals: The Royals have started their season out strong and sit with a record of 11-5 overall and have gone 1-1 in conference play with a 3-0 win over Carleton College and a 3-1 loss to Gustavus. The Royals, who were picked to win the MIAC in the preseason poll, will be heading to St. Joseph with six straight set wins after coming back from four consecutive losses. Carla Hoppe is second in the MIAC with 208 total kills and Katie Lubben is fourth with 415 assists.
Last Year: Last season, the Blazers faced off against Bethel at home and finished the night with a 3-0 win. In the first set, the Blazers took a 25-20 win before closing the sweep with 25-21 and 25-23 wins.
Melissa Koop and
Laura Schmitt led the offense with 10 kills each. Defensively, Koop also added three blocks and four digs. Schmitt added another 14 digs.
The Storyline: The Blazers are continuing to build up their momentum at a great time as they head into their second game of a seven-game streak of conference play. They will be looking to extend their winning streak and use home-court advantage before hitting the road for their next two conference games. Bethel will be heading into this game looking for revenge after a 3-0 loss to CSB in their matchup last season.
Who to Watch: Senior
Laura Schmitt currently leads the Blazers with 196 kills and sits with 3.84 kills per set. She tied a career-high with 23 kills Wednesday against the Scots.
Meghan Koop is also averaging 2.16 kills per set and leads the team with 217 digs.
Lauren Mathews is also leading the team with 48 blocks as
Mary Franz adds another 39 on the season.
Last Time Out: In their last match, the Blazers took a 3-1 win over Macalester in St. Paul. The Blazers started the night with an 25-18 loss in the first set. From here, the Blazers battled back to take the second set by a score of 25-14. The Blazers continued their success with 25-19 and 26-24 wins to finish the night. Schmitt finished the night with 23 kills to tie her career high and reach the 20 kill mark for the third time this season.
Megan Pekarek also finished with eight kills and led the team with 40 assists.
