MIAC Standings
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team looked like it was on a mission to ruin Augsburg's undefeated MIAC season Wednesday night.
CSB took a 2-1 lead on the Auggies in Claire Lynch and, even after losing the fourth set, came out strong in the fifth set, and led 9-7 midway through the set.
Augsburg had other ideas, however, and took a 14-11 lead late in the fifth set.
Lauren Mathews had a pair of kills to get CSB within one, 14-13, but an Augsburg kill ended the set and the match, 3-2 in favor of the Auggies.
With one game left in the regular season, Saint Benedict is now 12-12 overall and 5-5 and in sixth in the conference. A win at Concordia Saturday would secure CSB a spot in the MIAC Tournament, and a tie would put them in a tie with up to three other teams, all vying for the fifth and final postseason slot.
Augsburg secured the conference title outright and finished the regular season 11-0 in league play. The Auggies, along with Gustavus, St. Thomas, Saint Mary's and Bethel have all secured a spot in the six-team postseason tournament.
CSB got off to a solid start Wednesday thanks to six first-set kills by Mathews en route to a 25-19 win. Augsburg came back to win the second set 25-21, but a kill from Mathews and another from
Megan Pekarek down the stretch helped Saint Benedict bounce back to win the third set 25-22 to go up 2-1.
After a back and forth start to the fourth set, Augsburg went up 10-6 and never gave up the lead. The Auggies pushed their lead to 18-12 and then 20-14 before pulling away for the win.
The fifth set was equally as close to start, and CSB took a 9-7 lead on a kill by
Briana Schmiesing and an Augsburg attack error, but the Auggies came from behind to win the set and the match.
Mathews finished with 15 kills to lead CSB, which had 62 kills to Augsburg's 45. The Auggies, however, had four service errors to CSB's 15. Schmiesing added 14 kills and
Cami Hoover finished with 13. Pekarek had 50 assists, 12 digs and eight kills, and
Haley LaValle led the team with 29 digs.
Meghan Koop (23) and
Ashley Trustheim (15) also hit double-digit digs.
CSB wraps up the regular season and determines its postseason fate Saturday when it travels to Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. game against Concordia. The MIAC Tournament starts Tuesday, Nov. 1.
