ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Hunter Weiss has been a nightmare for opposing coaches in all facets of the game this season.
 
On offense, she takes a lot of impressive swings on the right side – and a very high percentage of those swings turn into points for the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team. On defense, she uses all of her 6-foot-1-inch frame to keep the opposing team's attacks off CSB's side of the court. And this season, she's even started setting on occasion – mostly to twin sister Madison Weiss.
 
After the MIAC Quarterfinals, Hunter Weiss was in the top five in the MIAC in total kills, total blocks, hitting percentage, kills per set and blocks per set. For her dominance at the net, she is this 2019 MIAC Player of the Year, it was announced Wednesday afternoon.
 
Hunter is the third Saint Benedict volleyball athlete to earn MIAC Player of the Year honors, and the first in nearly three decades. Niki Denne and Amy Hagen won the prestigious honor in back-to-back years in 1989 and 1990, and Hunter joins the impressive list in 2019.
 
Joining Hunter on the All-MIAC First Team are Madison Weiss and Katie Koch. This marks the third straight first-team honors for the Weiss twins, and the second straight for Koch. Senior libero Haley LaValle is the team's All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team honoree.
 
St. Thomas – which won the league's regular-season title with an 11-0 record – swept the MIAC defensive, rookie and coach of the year honors. UST senior Ellie Meyer won the league's Defensive Player of the Year, Selena Levendoski won Rookie of the Year honors and Thanh Pham won Coach of the Year.
 
Hunter has been impressive at the net in each of her three seasons with CSB, but as a junior in 2019 her accuracy has caused headaches for opposing defenses all season. She is currently hitting a career-best .416, which is good for second in the MIAC – behind only Madison – and sixth in all of Division III. She has hit .400 or better in 13 of the team's 27 matches, and .600 or better four times. In 798 attempts this season, she has just 31 attack errors to go with 363 kills – good for third in the MIAC. She became the 14^th player in CSB volleyball history to surpass the 1,000-kill milestone earlier this season.
 
As deadly as Hunter has been on offense all season, she is equally as good on defense and is currently third in the MIAC with 100 total blocks. She is fourth in the MIAC in blocks per set, and in the top 20 in the nation. She is also top 40 in Division III in total blocks, and top 55 in kills per set with 3.72. Hunter has had double-digit kills in all but two matches this season, and recorded a season-high 17 kills on five occasions.
 
As if one 6-foot-1 hitter wasn't enough, opposing teams have to deal with two when they play Saint Benedict, and Madison Weiss has been just as efficient as Hunter as a junior in 2019. She currently leads the MIAC – and the nation – with a .431 hitting percentage, and has 330 kills on 637 attempts from the middle. She is fifth in the MIAC in total kills and fourth with 3.44 kills per set. She had a career-high 26 kills in a five-set win at St. Kate's early in the season.
 
Not only is Madison tough on offense, she is also the best in Division III – and the NCAA – on defense. She leads all of Division III with 155 total blocks, which, as of Wednesday morning, was the most total blocks across all levels of the NCAA. She is also first in the country with 1.72 blocks per set. Madison had a season-high 12 total blocks on Sept. 25 at St. Kate's.
 
Neither Madison or Hunter would be as efficient as they are if it weren't for Koch running the offense. She is sixth in Division III in assists per set and in the top 40 in total assists, and has helped the team hit an impressive .255 this season. Koch is currently second in the MIAC with a career-high 11.14 assists per set, and fourth with 1,111 assists. She reached the 2,000-assist milestone earlier this fall, and recently went over 1,000 assists on the season.
 
Koch is also third on the team with 267 digs, and has a career-high 103 kills to her name so far this season. She had a career-high nine kills on Sept. 18 at Bethel, and tied her career-high with 16 digs that same night. She has 40 or more assists in 11 games this season, and went over 50 assists in back-to-back matches against Hamline and St. Scholastica.
 
LaValle earned the team's sportsmanship nod after being a leader for the team's defense – and a vocal leader on the court – all season as a senior. She is seventh in the MIAC with 427 digs and eighth with 4.45 digs per set. LaValle has 20 or more digs on six occasions in 2019, and a season-high 31 digs on Oct. 16 against Hamline.

CSB continues its MIAC Tournament run Thursday, Nov. 7, when it heads to Northfield to take on St. Olaf. This marks the third straight season Saint Benedict has earned a spot in the semifinal match.