ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team opened MIAC play with an instant classic against Bethel Wednesday night.
 
After winning the first set, CSB lost the next two sets, but came back to win the fourth and fifth sets – including a 17-15 victory in the deciding fifth set to come away with a 3-2 win in Arden Hills. CSB won 25-18, 21-25, 23-25, 25-19 and 17-15.
 
The win marks the 12^th of the season for eighth-ranked Saint Benedict, which is 12-1 overall and 1-0 in MIAC play. Bethel is 5-5 overall and 0-1 to start the MIAC season.
 
CSB led early in the fifth set, but the Royals came back to take a slim lead that they would maintain until a pair of kills from Gabby Heying and a block from Madison Weiss and Katie Koch tied the set 10-10. The two teams traded points through 15-15, and a Bethel service error and a big kill from Hunter Weiss ended the set – and the match – in Saint Benedict's favor.
 
The Royals also snagged an early lead to start the match in the first set, and maintained that lead until it was 10-10. From there, CSB went on an 8-2 run to go up 18-12, and Bethel was never able to recover. Set two was close two start, with neither team leading by more than two until Bethel went up 14-11. Two Royal attack errors made it 14-13, but from there Bethel was able to push its lead and hold on for the win.
 
The Royals came out strong in set three and led 9-3 early. Kills from Heing, Madison and Emily Marso made it 11-8, and another kill from Heying and a BU attack error later made it 12-10, but the Royals held the lead. After a timeout with Bethel up 17-12, CSB went on a 5-0 run that included kills from Katie Koch and Morgan Holthaus to tie the set at 17-17, but the Royals answered with several points of their own to re-gain the lead. A Bethel attack error tied the set 23-23, but a big Bethel block and a bad set on CSB ended the set to put the Royals up 2-1.
 
As had been the case all match, set four was close to start, but down 12-11, a kill from Madison sparked a 4-0 CSB run that included three straight blocks from the Weiss twins to put the team up 15-12. The Royals got within two on several occasions, but CSB maintained its lead to set up the fifth and final set.
 
Heying and Madison both finished with 14 kills to pace CSB, which hit .230 while holding the Royals to a .153 hitting percentage. Hunter added 13 kills and Koch finished with nine. Koch also had a season-high 49 assists and 16 digs, Haley LaValle and Bridget McDonald both had a team-high 21 digs – a career-best for McDonald - and Wenisch finished with a career-high 20 digs. Madison also finished with 10 block assists and Hunter had six.
 
Hannah Wilhite led Bethel with 19 kills and Maria Claflin had 17. Ellie Hoyt had 44 assists and Kelsie Sealock had a team-high 15 digs.
 
For the first time all season, CSB has the weekend off and returns to action Wednesday, Sept. 25, when it heads back to the Twin Cities to take on St. Kate's in a MIAC match in St. Paul.