ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After a week off to recharge, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team is back in action Wednesday and kicks off a busy week with a MIAC match at St. Kate's. The two teams play at 7 p.m. in St. Paul in the first of four matches for the week for CSB, which is at the Simpson Tournament in Indianola, Iowa, this weekend.
 
About the Wildcats
St. Kate's is 9-5 overall so far this season, but 0-1 in MIAC play after dropping a close 3-2 match to Concordia to start conference play last week. Since then, the Wildcats split a pair of matches with a loss to St. Scholastica and a win against UW-Superior. Emma Nelson leads the team with 135 kills, and Erin Cutts has a .352 hitting percentage. Marissa Gilbertson has a team-high 284 assists and Grace Amacher has 204 digs.
 
Last Meeting
Last season, CSB beat the Wildcats 3-1 in St. Joe. Saint Benedict won the first two sets 25-11 and 25-22 before St. Kate's came back to win set three 26-24, and the Wildcats almost forced a fifth set, but CSB held on to win 25-21. Hunter Weiss had 14 kills and five blocks and Madison Weiss had 12 kills and seven blocks, Katie Koch had 48 assists and Haley LaValle had 24 digs.
 
The Storyline
After a close call with Bethel last Wednesday to open MIAC play, CSB is looking to settle down and settle into MIAC play. Saint Benedict is currently 12-1 overall, ranked eighth in Division III and on a nine-match winning streak. The Wildcats, on the other hand, have been more spotty, and have gone 2-4 since starting the season 7-1 overall.
 
Who to Watch
The Weiss twins and Gabby Heying had big nights at the net to help CSB hold on for the 3-2 win at Bethel last week. Madison and Heying both had 14 kills – and Madison also had 10 block assists – and Hunter finished with 12 kills. Bridget McDonald (21 digs) and Mary Wenisch (20 digs) both had career-high digs to help lead the team's defense. Currently, Hunter leads the nation with a .485 hitting percentage and Madison is third with a .458. Madison is also third in total blocks (69), second in blocks per set (1.50) and Hunter is 21^st with 3.98 kills per set. Koch is third with 11.09 assists per set and 19^th in the nation with 510 total assists.