ST. JOSEPH, MINN. –  After winning on the road in the quarterfinals, the No. 5 College of Saint Benedict Volleyball Team (15-11) has advanced to play No. 1 Gustavus Adolphus (23-4) in the MIAC Tournament semifinals at 7 pm on Thursday in St. Peter, Minn.   

What's at stake – Teams play for spot in title game
The Bennies have clinched their 11th winning season since 2010. 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 12-9 overall record. In 2017, CSB won a MIAC Tournament Championship. Now, the Bennies hit the road again as the teams try to advance to the championship on Saturday which has a start time of 7 pm and will be played at the highest remaining seed in the tournament. In the other semifinal, No. 3 St. Catherine will play at No. 2 St. Olaf at 7 pm on Thursday.
 
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 Gustavus-CSB match, click here for live video and live stats.
 
CSB Notes – Spolidoro set to surpass 1K in assists
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 1,240 kills, a total that ranks third-best. Led by Audrey Spolidoro (1,512 career assists) with 991 set assists and a league best 10.22.set, CSB ranks first with 1,103 assists or a team average of 12.42 per set. Spolidoro ranks 11th in NCAA DIII in assists per set. She is also listed 13th in total assists nationally. The Bennies also lead the MIAC with 19.99 digs per set (1,859 total), which places them in the top 20 in DIII.

Senior All-MIAC outside hitter Gabby Heying is fourth in the league with 3.53 kills/set and her total of 342 has her at 937 in her career. Heying's season total of 342 is the best of her career as she had 294 in 2019. Heying ranks fourth in the league with 382.5 points or 3.94 per set. The senior standout has 28 career double doubles, and 56 matches with double-digit kills, including 23 in 2022. Junior Emma Guest is sixth in the league with 354 points (3.65/set) as she has 309 kills this season, which is a career-high for a season. She has registered 11 double doubles this season. First-year standout Chaeli Haupert ranks eighth in the MIAC with 0.40 service aces per set and has 39 in 97 sets this year.  
 
Quick Look at Gustavus Adolphus - Ranked No. 14 in AVCA Poll  
Directed by 13^th-year head coach Rachelle Sherden, the No. 14 ranked Gustavus Adolphus won the regular season crown in the MIAC with an 11-0 record. The league's No. 1 seed in the MIAC Tourney, it is a team that is 7-0 at home this year with an overall 23-4 record. Gustavus averaged 13.5 kills per set and leads the MIAC with a .242 hitting percentage on its 1,235 kills in 3,476 attacks. The Gusties also average 1.9 blocks per set and ranks second in assists with 12.38/set. Marlee Turn leads the work at the net with a league-best 3.85 kills/set (331) and is hitting .286 for fourth in the MIAC. Kasie Tweet is third in assists in the MIAC with 9.55/set and 879 total. Sarah Elliott has 73 blocks and Sydney Olson has 51 to rank in the top 10 in the league.

Series Notes vs Gustavus 
In the all-time series, Saint Benedict holds a 22-14 overall series lead against Gustavus Adolphus. In the last meeting on Oct. 22 at Claire Lynch Hall, the Bennies dropped at 3-0 decision to the Gusties by scores of 25-16, 25-13 and 25-22. It is a series that dates to the first meeting on Oct. 4, 1993 when the Bennies took a 3-0 decision in St. Peter. CSB won the first three matches before Gustavus took a 3-1 decision on Oct. 14, 1994. Gustavus has won three straight, dating to a CSB win on Oct. 26, 2019, a 3-1 decision at Claire Lynch Hall. At Saint Peter, Minn., CSB is 7-9.
Head Coach Nicole Hess has 303 career wins
In her 13th season, Head Coach Nicole Hess has led CSB to a 15-11 record and 6-5 in the MIAC for fifth 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 240-116 overall at CSB and 93-39 in MIAC play.  
 
In her 19 seasons overall as a head coach, Hess is 304-248 overall and 108-101 in conference play. In MIAC Tournament action, she has an 12-9 record and a 2017 MIAC Tourney 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.