ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team has one of the best 1-2 punches at the net in Division III this season, and Tuesday morning both of those athletes were awarded the highest honor in collegiate athletics.
 
Hunter Weiss and Madison Weiss both earned First Team All-American honors as juniors, the AVCA announced Tuesday. This marks the first time since 1990 that Saint Benedict volleyball has had two First Team All-American in the same year, and just the fourth time in program history. CSB had a pair of first-team honorees each year from 1988-90.
 
This also marks the first time since 1991 and just the fourth time in program history that an athlete has earned first team honors more than once in a career. Hunter earned a first-team nod as a sophomore last season, and joins Chris Muehlbauer (1990, 1991), Amy Hagen (1988-90) and Niki Denne (1988, 1989) as the program's only athletes to earn multiple first-team accolades.
 
Tuesday's honor also marks the second for Madison, who earned a third-team nod as a sophomore. Saint Benedict joins Johns Hopkins – the team's opponent in Thursday's NCAA Quarterfinals – as the only two teams to have a pair of first-team honorees on the 2019 All-American list. Madison and Hunter are also the only two MIAC volleyball athletes on the first team. St. Thomas' Ellie Meyer earned a second-team nod, and Augsburg's Corrina Evans and St. Olaf's Lauren Rewers earned third-team honors.
 
Hunter and Madison's All-American honors come after impressive seasons on the court for CSB – and more specifically, impressive seasons at the net. The pair were dual threats, and were as dangerous on defense at the net as they were on offense. Heading into the NCAA Championships, Hunter – a right-side hitter – is 10^th in the nation and finished second in the MIAC with a .399 hitting percentage. She is 18^th in Division III with 119 total blocks, and 31^st with 422 total kills.
 
Hunter recorded double-digit kills in 29 of the team's 31 games so far this season. She surpassed the 20-kill milestone twice as a junior – in each of the team's five-set wins in the region tournament to help CSB advance to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2008. She had a season-high 22 kills against Northwestern, and added 21 more a day later in the region championship against UW-Stevens Point.
 
Madison continues to lead all of the NCAA – and tied her own school record, set one year ago – with 194 total blocks as a junior. She also leads the nation with 1.75 blocks per set, and is second with a .418 hitting percentage. She has hit .300 or better in 11 of the team's last 12 matches, including an impressive .486 with 18 kills and just one error against the Pointers. Madison has only hit below .300 in four matches this season. She has a career-best 387 kills so far this season, and is just 37 kills away from the 1,000-kill milestone heading into this week's national championships. Twin sister Hunter became the 14^th player in program history to reach 1,000 kills earlier this season, and is already up to ninth in program history with 1,164 after posting a career-high 435 kills so far in 2019.
 
Madison reached the 500-block milestone with nine block assists and one solo block against Stevens Point, and has 507 in her three-year career. She is on pace to set the school record for blocks in a career with the current record – set by Tina Kampa from 1991-94 – at 604.
 
Hunter, Madison and their teammates' season continues this week at the 2019 NCAA Division III National Championships. After winning the St. Paul Regional Championship – the third region championship in program history – CSB takes on second-seeded Johns Hopkins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, in an NCAA Quarterfinal game in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.