Watch Live | Live Stats

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Saturday night, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team has the chance to do what no CSB team has done since 2013: win a conference title.
 
After beating Augsburg 3-2 in Thursday's semifinal, second-seeded CSB travels to St. Paul to take on top-seeded St. Thomas in the 2017 MIAC Championship match. The match – which determines who earns the league's at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament – starts at 7 p.m. on the UST campus.
 
The last team from Saint Benedict to win a conference title was the 2013 soccer team. The last MIAC title for volleyball came in 2009, but the team has played in the conference championship match since then. CSB took on St. Thomas in the conference championship in both 2012 and 2013, but lost 3-2 in both matches.
 
Saturday's match marks the fifth time since the conference tournament started in 2000 that the Tommies and CSB have faced off for the title, and UST is 4-0 in the first four matchups. The two teams also played for the title in 2005 and 2007.
 
Heading into Saturday's match, the Tommies have won 24 of the last 27 matchups between the two teams, but CSB's last win against St. Thomas was on the Tommies' home court. CSB beat UST 3-1 in St. Paul on Sept. 16, 2015, snapping an eight-game losing streak to the Tommies.
 
The two teams have already met once this season, and UST – which is 25-5 and ranked 17^th in Division III – won 3-0. The Tommies won 25-18, 25-13 and 25-18. Saint Benedict – which was just 5-6 at the time – hit .053 as a team with 33 kills. Hunter Weiss finished the night with 11 kills and Briana Schmiesing had eight. Megan Pekarek had 28 assists and Haley LaValle had 13 digs.
 
Following the loss to UST, CSB went on a seven-match winning streak, and since losing to the Tommies, CSB is 13-2. Saint Benedict (18-8) heads into the conference championship match riding a six-game winning streak, including a win over then-No. 11 Gustavus.
 
The Tommies are also riding a six-match winning streak, and look to protect their home court. UST is 6-0 at home this season and has lost just twice at home in the last two seasons. St. Thomas advanced to the championship after a 3-1 win over St. Olaf Thursday night.
 
Stat-wise, the two team's leaders look very similar. Weiss leads CSB and is 12^th in the MIAC with 289 kills, while Whitney Lloyd leads the Tommies and is 13^th in the league with 254 kills. Pekarek is fourth in the league with 948 assists, and after Thursday's win is just 30 assists away from the 3,000-assist milestone. The Tommies' Katharine Mallak is seventh with 574 assists and Hannah Schwartz has 458.
 
Defensively, Haley LaValle is fourth in the league for CSB with 459 digs and Madie Kroehler is eighth for the Tommies with 413 digs. Madison Weiss (105) is second in the MIAC in total blocks and Lauren Mathews (86) is fourth, while Julia Spacek is 10^th with 68. As a team, CSB leads the league with 2.17 blocks per set – good for ninth in Division III. Madison Weiss is 16^th in the nation individually with 1.12 blocks per set.
 
A win Saturday would seal a trip to the national tournament for CSB, which earned a bid for five straight seasons from 2011-15. A 2017 bid would mark the 19^th trip to nationals in program history.