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ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Last season, the second-seeded College of Saint Benedict volleyball team played the spoiler in the MIAC Championship game, beating top-seeded St. Thomas 3-2 on the Tommies' home court.
 
After taking care of the Tommies Thursday night, CSB has another opportunity to upset the home team as it hits the road for the 2018 MIAC Championship match.
 
Saint Benedict – which held on for a 3-2 win over UST Thursday in the MIAC Semifinals – travels to St. Peter for a 7 p.m. matchup against top-seeded Gustavus in the conference title match. The Gusties – who were down 2-1 to No. 5 Augsburg midway through the match – also needed five sets to advance to their third conference championship game in the last four seasons. This marks the second straight year CSB will play for the conference title.
 
The Gusties head into the title match riding an 18-match winning streak, including an 11-0 march through the MIAC regular season. Gustavus – which is up to No. 8 in the latest AVCA coach's poll – suffered its last loss on Sept. 14 at UW-Eau Claire, which is currently ranked 15^th in Division III. Included in those 18 wins is a 3-1 victory over CSB on Oct. 20, also in St. Peter. Saint Benedict won the first set 25-20, but the Gusties cruised to a 25-7 win in set two, then pulled away with 25-17 and 25-23 wins. CSB hit just .170 to Gustavus' .263 in the regular-season matchup between the two teams, and had 42 kills to the Gusties' 63.
 
CSB is on a three-match winning streak after its loss to the Gusties. The team ended the regular season with a pair of sweeps before beating the Tommies Thursday. Saint Benedict has won 11 of its last 12 matches, dating back to a nonconference loss to Minnesota-Morris on Sept. 25.
 
Nora Holtan, the MIAC's 2018 Player of the Year, is currently third in the MIAC with 1,067 assists, and she is also in the top 30 nationally. Kate Holtan is fourth with 354 kills, and Brittany Luethmers, the league's Defensive Player of the Year, is fifth with 512 digs.
 
Four different athletes had career nights for CSB Thursday against the Tommies. Katie Koch had a career-high 50 assists, Haley LaValle upped her career best to 36 digs, Madison Weiss finished with a personal best of 21 kills and Liz Schultz had a career-best 28 digs. Koch is currently second in the MIAC with 1,101 assists, LaValle leads the league with 598 digs and Schultz is eighth with 439 and Weiss leads the league – and the nation – with 167 total blocks. She is also seventh with 313 kills, while Hunter Weiss is second with 364 kills and third with 117 blocks. Lauren Mathews is also ninth in the league with 91 total blocks.
 
CSB's 2017 tournament title marked its first MIAC title since 2009. A second straight title in 2018 would mark the first time winning back-to-back titles for the team since 1997 and 1998.
 
The winner of Saturday's match earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the loser waits until Monday to find out its postseason fate when the NCAA hosts its selection show at 11:30 a.m.