ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After playing eight matches in two different states to start the 2016 season, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team was looking to take advantage of playing on its home court for the first time Wednesday night. CSB won a thrilling first set, but ultimately St. Thomas came away with a 3-1 in St. Joseph, Minn., to spoil CSB's homecoming.
 
Saint Benedict (4-5, 0-1) looked to have momentum on its side after a 25-23 win in set one that included a nearly minute-long rally to go ahead 24-23, but the Tommies (5-4, 1-0) had other thoughts. UST came back to win the next three sets 25-17, 25-18 and 25-19.
 
The first set was close throughout, but CSB took a 10-6 lead thanks to two kills each from Megan Pekarek and Melissa Koop. UST tied the score at 10-10, and kills from Liz Schultz and Pekarek put CSB up again at 20-16, but the Tommies came back again to tie the score at 20-20.
 
Another kill from Koop put CSB up 23-22, the Tommies tied the score, and then a UST hitting error after a long rally put Saint Benedict up 24-23 with all the momentum, and a kill from Meghan Koop ended the set in CSB's favor.
 
Despite the first-set loss, UST came out and went on a 12-3 run to start the second set, and CSB was unable to recover. The Tommies pushed their lead to 21-12 before winning 25-17. The third set started close, but UST used a trio of kills to open a 13-9 lead midway through the set. A service ace by Haley LaValle and a UST hitting error got CSB within one, 14-13, but that's as close as it would get. The Tommies extended their lead to 23-15 before pulling out the win.
 
St. Thomas went on another run to start the fourth set, and led 6-2 before a kill from Schultz and a block from Pekarek and Schultz helped even out the score. Another UST run, however, made it 12-6, and later 16-9, before the Tommies pulled away to win the fourth set and the match.
 
Schultz finished with 13 kills to lead CSB, which had 47 total kills. She also had a career-high five block assists. Briana Schmiesing added nine and Lauren Mathews finished with eight kills. Pekarek had 38 assists, eight digs and eight kills, and Meghan Koop led the team with a career-high 35 digs. LaValle added 21 digs for CSB.
 
Saint Benedict is on the road for one last tournament Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16-17, when it heads to Waverly, Iowa, for the Wartburg Tournament. CSB takes on Luther at 5 p.m. Friday, Buena Vista at 10 a.m. Saturday and host-school Wartburg – which is receiving votes in Division III – at 2 p.m. Saturday.