ST. JOSEPH, MINN. –  After earning the No. 5 seed, the College of Saint Benedict Volleyball Team begins MIAC postseason play on the road Tuesday. The CSB Volleyball Team (14-11) will travel to face Bethel College (16-9) in the quarterfinals of the MIAC Tournament which opens on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 7 pm at Robertson Center Gym in Arden Hills, Minn.

The Bennies have clinched their 11th winning season since 2010. The No. 4-seeded Royals (16-9, 8-3 MIAC) are in the playoffs for the eighth straight season and 15th time overall. The No. 5-seeded Bennies have participated in all but one conference tournament since 2000. With CSB Head Coach Nicole Hess, the Bennies have made 11 appearances in the MIAC since 2010 with an 11-9 overall record. In 2017, CSB won a MIAC Tournament Championship.
 
MIAC Notes
After Tuesday's quarterfinals, the conference tournament will continue on Thursday with the two semifinal matches. No. 1 seed Gustavus will host the winner of the 4/5 (CSB/Bethel) match in St. Peter , Minn., and second-seeded St. Olaf Oles will host the 3/6 winner in Northfield. Both semifinal matches will begin at 7:00 p.m. The semifinal winners will advance to the championship match, which will be played Saturday, November 5, at 7 p.m. on the home court of the top remaining seed. The MIAC Playoff champion will receive the postseason championship plaque and the conference's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament.
   
Follow Along

To follow the Bethel-CSB match, click here for live video. For live stats, click here.
 
CSB ranks first in assists and third in kills in MIAC 
The Bennies, which rank fifth in the MIAC with a .175 hitting mark, is second in the league in kills per set at 13.33 with 1,186 kills, a total that ranks third-best. Led by Audrey Spolidoro (1,467 career assists) with 946 set assists and a league best 10.17.set, CSB ranks first with 1,103 assists or a team average of 12.39 per set. Spolidoro ranks eighth in NCAA DIII in assists per set. She is also listed in the top 20 in total assists nationally. The Bennies also lead the MIAC with 20.03 digs per set.

Senior All-MIAC outside hitter Gabby Heying is fourth in the league with 3.53 kills/set and her total of 328 has her at 923 in her career. Heying's season total of 328 is the best of her career as she had 294 in 2019. Heying ranks fifth in the league with 366 points or 3.94 per set. The senior standout has 27 career double doubles, and 55 matches with double-digit kills, including 22 in 2022. Junior Emma Guest is sixth in the league with 341 points (3.67/set) as she has 297 kills this season, which is a career-high for a season. She has registered 10 double doubles this season. First-year standout Chaeli Haupert ranks eighth in the MIAC with 0.40 service aces per set and has 37 in 93 sets this year.  
 
Quick Look at Bethel  
Directed by head coach Gretchen Hunt, Bethel had a 16-9 record and finished 8-3 for fourth in the MIAC. At home, they are 7-2. After a 1-3 start, BU had seven wins in eight matches to get on track. The Royals have 1,192 kills on the team and have a .213 hitting mark. Kirstin Cotter leads Bethel with 348 kills (most in the league) or 3.74 per set (2^nd in the MIAC). Dani Friedges has 242 kills or 2.60 per set. Also for the Royals, Hannah Wilhite has 881 set assists or 9.47 per set.
   
Series Notes vs Bethel 
In the all-time series, Saint Benedict holds a 25-15 overall series lead against Bethel. On Sept. 28, 2002, CSB lost, 3-0, in a close match by scores of 25-22, 25-22 and 25-23 at Bethel. Overall, BU has three straight wins in the series. At BU, CSB has a 10-10 record. CSB won the first eight matches between the schools which included a 3-0 win in the first match on Sept. 11, 1993 in Minneapolis. Bethel's first win was on Sept. 29, 1999 by a 3-1 score in St. Joseph, Minn.
 
Head Coach Nicole Hess has 303 career wins
In her 13th season, Head Coach Nicole Hess has led CSB to a 14-11 record and 6-5 in the MIAC for second place. Hess, who was inducted into the St. Olaf Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015 – has coached 12 All-Americans, 75 All-Central Region players, 28 All-MIAC athletes and 31 athletes who earned Academic All-MIAC honors. She is 239-116 overall at CSB and 93-39 in MIAC play.  
 
In her 19 seasons overall as a head coach, Hess is 303-248 overall and 108-101 in conference play. In MIAC Tournament action, she has an 11-9 record and a 2017 title. On Sept. 6, 2003, she registered her first victory against UW-Stevens Points. Her 100th victory was at CSB against Gustavus Adolphus on Nov. 1 and her 200 victories came on Sept. 17, 2016, against Buena Vista University. She recorded her 300th win on Oct. 7, 2022, against Macalester College. Hess led CSB to a national tournament berth each year from 2011-15, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2012, and made it back to the NCAA Tournament each year from 2017-19 with a 26-8 record and another Sweet 16 trip in 2018 and a 26-6 record and an Elite 8 appearance in 2019. She has won 18 or more games in nine of her 12 seasons, including four seasons with 21 wins or more. After a 12-13 finish in 2016, CSB went 19-9 in 2017 before reaching the 20-win milestone for the fourth time in her career in 2018. CSB finished 18-10 overall and third in the MIAC in 2015, and in 2014 Hess helped CSB finished 21-10 overall while picking up the 100th win of her CSB coaching career.  
 
Hess came to CSB in 2009 from St. Catherine where she was the head coach from 2003-09. She inherited a rebuilding Wildcat program and made great progress in her seven seasons there. During her last two seasons, the Wildcats won more than 10 games for the first time since 1996. She won MIAC Coach of the Year honors in 2009. As a collegiate player, Hess achieved success as a four-time All-MIAC honoree at St. Olaf College. She was a three-time member of the All-Region team and in 2001 was selected to the AVCA All-America second team. Hess holds school records in career kills (2,041), career hitting percentage (.352), and hitting percentage in a season (.392). She is in the top 10 in St. Olaf history.