ST. PETER, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team was looking to use the momentum from Friday's sweep at St. Olaf against another ranked team Saturday evening, but the magic from Friday's performance didn't carry over.
 
The Bennies' offense struggled Saturday in St. Peter as CSB fell 3-0 to No. 25 Gustavus. The Gusties hit .347 and held CSB to a .047 hitting percentage as they went on to win 25-17, 25-15 and 25-13.
 
The loss puts Saint Benedict (6-12, 4-5) in a four-way tie for fifth with two games left in the regular season. Macalester, CSB, Augsburg and St. Kate's are all 4-5 in the MIAC heading into the final week of regular-season play. Bethel, Gustavus and Hamline have already secured spots in the six-team MIAC Tournament.
 
The first set was close to start as Gabby Heying had two kills and Madelyn Gregory added one to tie the set at 7-7. From there, however, the Gusties (22-5, 8-1) used short runs to continue to pull away. Heying and Gregory had back-to-back kills late, but Gustavus was able to hold on for the win.
 
The Gusties went on early runs in both the second and third sets, and the Bennies were never able to recover.
 
Heying led the team with nine kills and also added six digs for CSB, which had 25 kills to Gustavus' 46. Gregory and Grace Holm both added five kills. Audrey Spolidoro had 23 assists and Mary Wenisch had a team-high eight digs.
 
Kate Holtan was one of three players with double-digit kills for the Gusties as she led the way with 14. Kasie Tweet had 37 assists and Hailey Embacher led the defense with 13 digs.
 
CSB is home for one match then on the road to end the regular season next weekend. The Bennies host St. Kate's at 7 p.m. Friday in Claire Lynch before taking on Concordia on the road.