ST. JOSEPH, MINN. – On Saturday, the College of Saint Benedict Volleyball Team (12-7, 4-1 MIAC) wrapped up an impressive weekend by knocking off No. 15 Augsburg (14-4, 3-2), 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-20), at Claire Lynch Hall with a balanced and focused effort.

 

For the first time since defeating No. 11 Augsburg, also by a score of 3-0 at home on Oct. 5, 2019, CSB defeated a top-20 ranked team in NCAA DIII. It came as the squad continues to build momentum as they have recorded three straight wins for the second time this season. Two of those wins came this weekend with a 3-0 win over Macalester giving Head Coach Nicole Hess her 300^th career win.

In each of those three wins, St. Ben's won in three sets as they have moved into second place in the MIAC with a 4-1 record while standing 12-7 overall.

I think we are doing a great play of staying true to who we are as a team," said St. Ben's Head Coach Nicole Hess, who earned her 301^st career win and 237^th with the Bennies tonight. "We are best when we play one point at a time. We are staying true to the moment, which is critically important," added Hess, whose squad hits the road for matches with Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minn., on Oct. 14 and at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., on Oct. 15.

For the 15^th time this year, senior All-MIAC outside hitter Gabby Heying recorded a double double with a match-high 13 kills (848 career kills) to go with 10 digs. Heying has recorded double digit kills in 16 consecutive matches. Sophomore setter Audrey Spolidoro, who leads the MIAC in assists, also had a double double with match-high 33 assists and a team-high 12 digs. As a result, she has surpassed 700 assists on the year (706) and moved past 1,200 assists in her second year at CSB, totaling 1,227.

 

Four players totaled double figures in digs as Mackenzie McDonald had 10 Emma Guest followed up a 15-kill performance when she hit a career-best 481 against Macalester in a win Friday with a double-double of 10 kills and 10 digs. She has five straight matches with double digit kills.

 In total, CSB had 41 kills on 110 attacks for a .218 hitting mark as they finished above their season average (.176) for the second straight night.

"I really felt like we had solid balance tonight," said Hess. "That is important to our success. We passed the ball extremely well and that is great when we can run all three hitters," she said.

Against the nationally ranked Auggies, CSB controlled the match from the start. In the opening set, CSB to a 25-18 decision while converting 10 kills on 35 attacks while the Auggies had nine kills on 39 attacks. The Bennies opened a 5-1 lead and after, Augsburg cut the lead to 7-6, had a run of 6-1 to take a 13-7 lead after an attack error. The Auggies rallied with four straight points and seven of the next nine to tie the set at 16. But, as would be the case all night, CSB stayed focused on each point and with a six-point run took control at 21-16 after three kills from Guest, who later closed the match with another kill off an assist from Spolidoro.

In set two, CSB dominated to the tune of a 25-14 set win. In rolling through that set, CSB had 14 kills on 32 attacks for a match-high .313 hitting mark. While CSB dominated the set, the early momentum was with the Auggies who led, 4-2. With the set tied at 9-9, the Bennies took off with a seven-point run, keyed by kills from Heying and Guest for a 15-9 lead. At 15-11, Mackenzie Knofczynski, who led CSB with three blocks, had two kills and one from Olivia Thompson gave the Bennies a 19-11 lead. Then, St. Ben's closed the set with a 6-3 run as Guest had two kills, including the set-deciding finish.

In the final set, which was close throughout, the Bennies hit .256 with 17 kills on 43 attacks. CSB opened a 5-3 lead after a service ace from Heying. Then, the home-standing Bennies built a 12-6 advantage after a kill from Knofczynski. Trailing 17-10, the Auggies made a move to get back into the set. They scored six straight points before Heying's kill kept CSB on top, 18-16. At 19-18, the Bennies had a set-deciding 5-1 run as Thompson had a pair of kills for a 23-18 lead. Heying closed the set and match with a kill to give CSB its first upset of a nationally ranked team since 2019.