The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team is no stranger to its opponent Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

When CSB and UW-Eau Claire meet at 12:30 p.m. in the St. Paul Regional, hosted by St. Thomas, it will be the fourth time the two teams have played in the last two seasons, and the second straight year they have met in the NCAA Tournament.

After a win over the Blugolds earlier in the 2019 regular season, CSB is hoping to make it two straight wins against Eau Claire. Prior to the Sept. 4 win in Eau Claire, Wis., the Blugolds had won three straight against the Bennies – including a 3-1 win in last year's Sweet 16 matchup in St. Peter, Minn. From there, UWEC went on to the national semifinals before losing just its fourth match of the season to end the year 30-4.

This year, the Blugolds head into the national tournament 20-9 and looking to bounce back after a loss to UW-Stevens Point in the WIAC Semifinals on Nov. 7. That loss, however, snapped a 10-match win streak for the Blugolds – a streak that included a 3-1 win over then-No. 1 Chicago on Nov. 2. Of Eau Claire's nine losses this season, three came in the team's first six matches of the season, and six were in its first 12 matches. Since losing back-to-back games on Sept. 18 and 20, Eau Claire is 14-3 heading into the national tournament.

Saint Benedict, on the other hand, got off to a hot start in 2019 – its best since 2013. The team went 17-1 before picking up its second loss of the year, and rattled off 14 straight wins in that stretch. Since that streak ended on Oct. 11, the team is 6-2, including a 3-1 loss to St. Olaf in the MIAC Semifinals on Nov. 7.

Offensively, Arianna Barrett leads UWEC and is third in the WIAC with 379 total kills, and earned AVCA Division III Player of the Week honors in early November after recording 21 kills in the upset of No. 1 Chicago. Makenzie Bachmann has 241 kills and Kendra Baierl has 228 heading into the NCAA Tournament. Abbey Pederson and Leah Witzel split time at setter for the Blugolds, and Pederson leads the team with 739 assists. On defense, Baierl leads the team with 84 total blocks and Taylor Scalia has a team-high 545 digs. Barrett and Baierl both earned All-WIAC First Team honors and Scalia earned a spot on the WIAC All-Defensive Team.

CSB has been solid at the net on both offense and defense, and ranks seventh in Division III in blocks per set (2.33), ninth in hitting percentage (.252) and 22^nd with 233 total blocks. Saint Benedict has hit .300 or better as a team 10 times this season, while opponents have hit .200 or better only seven times. CSB is 3-4 in those seven matches.

Madison Weiss continues to lead the nation with 1.69 blocks per set and is second with a .425 hitting percentage and 164 total blocks. Twin sister Hunter Weiss – the MIAC Player of the Year – is seventh in the country with a .409 hitting percentage and 29^th with 1.05 blocks per set.

The winner of Thursday's 12:30 p.m. game moves on to play the winner of the St. Olaf/Northwestern matchup at 4:30 p.m. Friday in St. Paul. The region championship match is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16. On the other side of the bracket, St. Thomas – the region's top seed – takes on Dubuque and Augsburg takes on Stevens Point. The winner of those two matches play at 7 p.m. Friday.

The 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship runs Nov. 21-23 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.