ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After 11 matches on the road, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team is finally set to open its 2017 home schedule. CSB is at home for the first time at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, when it hosts Hamline University in Claire Lynch.
After not playing at home in the first three weeks of the season, CSB is in Claire Lynch for back-to-back matches as it hosts St. Scholastica in a nonconference match Tuesday evening.
About the Pipers
Hamline is 3-12 overall and still looking for its first MIAC win of the year at 0-2 in the conference. The Pipers head into Friday's match looking to snap a 10-game losing streak dating back to early September. Cass Bittle leads the team and is 11
th in the MIAC with 128 kills, and Megan Anderson is currently 10
th in the league with 179 digs.
Last Meeting
Hamline beat Saint Benedict 3-2 in an extremely close match in Claire Lynch last season. Hamline won the first two sets, but CSB came bounding back to win the next two to force a fifth set. After much back and forth, Hamline won the set 18-16 to win the match.
Lauren Mathews had 20 kills,
Megan Pekarek had 51 assists and
Haley LaValle led the team with 24 digs.
Who to Watch
Megan Pekarek won MIAC Setter of the Week honors for the sixth time in her career Monday after recording 184 assists to help CSB finish 4-1 last week. She is third in the MIAC with 9.65 assists per set and has 339 assists to her name. Senior
Liz Schultz leads CSB with 112 kills, and first year
Hunter Weiss is right behind with 110. Twin sister
Madison Weiss is first in the league with 1.02 blocks per set and second in the MIAC with 41 total blocks.
The Storyline
After being swept by No. 21 St. Thomas Wednesday, CSB looks to get back on track with a win Friday night. Saint Benedict also looks to take advantage of finally playing on its home court and bringing its record back up to .500. Both teams are looking to move up the MIAC ladder to put themselves in position to earn a spot in the league's postseason playoffs at the end of the season.
