ATLANTA, Ga. – Friday afternoon, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team went to five sets with one of the top 25 teams in the nation but came up just short. Saturday afternoon, CSB was on the other end of that five-set battle.
 
In its biggest win in recent memory, Saint Benedict upset No. 4 Emory 3-2 Saturday in the second and final day of the Emory Tournament. CSB started the day with a 3-0 loss to Birmingham Southern, but bounced back to end the trip on a high note. Saint Benedict won the first set, Emory won the next two and CSB hung on for a two-point win in set four and cruised to the win in set five.
 
After a 25-20 win in the first set, Emory came back to win the second set 25-17. CSB led 22-20 late in the third set, but a pair of kills tied the score at 22, and Emory got a service ace to go up 23-22. A kill from Briana Schmiesing tied the score at 23, but a CSB attack error and Emory kill gave Emory the win, 25-23.
 
CSB reversed that score in the fourth set, and used kills from Melissa Koop and a final kill from Schmiesing to win 25-23 to force a fifth and final set. Koop got a kill to start the scoring in the fifth set, and CSB went on a 7-2 run to take a big lead early. Liz Schultz had a pair of kills to make it 11-6, and a pair of Emory attack errors eventually gave CSB the win.
 
Schmiesing finished with 16 kills to pace CSB, Schultz added 13 and Koop finished with 10. Megan Pekarek tied her career-high with 51 assists, and Koop led the team with 24 digs. Haley LaValle added 17 digs, Meghan Koop finished with 16 and Megan Barta had 13 digs.
 
In the first match of the day, Birmingham Southern came out fast and beat CSB 25-13, 25-20 and 25-22. Schultz and Meghan Koop each had eight kills, Pekarek had 24 assists and LaValle led the team with 14 digs. Barta also had 13 digs and Allison Roeh finished with 11.
 
CSB is off now until Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9-10, when it heads to Stevens Point, Wis., for four games at the UW-Stevens Point Tournament.