ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team withstood a late rally to pick up a 3-1 nonconference win of Luther College Saturday afternoon.
The win – which keeps CSB undefeated at home in Claire Lynch this season – marks the 13
th of the season for Saint Benedict and snaps a two-match losing streak. With four conference matches left in the regular season, CSB is now 13-8 overall.
Win No. 13 didn't come easy for CSB. After a 25-13 win in set one, CSB won set two 25-22, lost set three 25-23 and snuck away with a 25-23 win in the fourth and final set.
Set one was all CSB as kills from
Madison Weiss and
Liz Schultz helped put the team up early, and CSB pulled away for the 25-13 win. The Norse (13-9) came out strong in set two, and tied the game at 13-13 to force a CSB timeout. The game was back and forth until a kill by Weiss made it 22-20, and a pair of kills by Weiss ended the set.
In the third set Luther rallied from an 18-13 deficit to win 25-23. After a kill by
Lauren Mathews made it 18-13, the Norse went on a 6-2 run to pull within one, 20-19. A kill from
Briana Schmiesing and service ace by Schultz tied the set at 22-22, and a kill from
Hunter Weiss closed the game to one point at 24-23, but a CSB service error ended the set in Luther's favor.
Set four was much the same as Saint Benedict led early, and pulled away from a 20-12 lead before the Norse started making their move. The Norse went on a 6-3 run to make it 23-18, and after a kill from Schmeising, Luther scored five straight points to get within one, 24-23, but
Madison Weiss ended the match with a kill.
Madison Weiss had a team-high 13 kills for CSB and Schultz and Schmiesing each added 10. Mathews tied a career-high with eight block assists and Schultz added five.
Megan Pekarek finished with 41 assists and
Haley LaValle led the defense with 22 digs. Schultz and Pekarek each added 12 digs.
Emma Veum led Luther with 12 kills and Sam Sixta had 41 assists. Natalie Cote led the defense with 19 digs.
CSB is off now until Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20 and 21, when it hosts a pair of key MIAC matches. CSB hosts St. Olaf Friday at 7 p.m. and Gustavus Saturday at 3 p.m.
