ST. PETER, MINN. – The No. 5 seeded College of Saint Benedict (15-12) run in the MIAC Tournament ended in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-22) loss to top-seeded Gustavus Adolphus (24-4) in the tourney semifinals on Thursday (Nov. 3).

With the loss, CSB's season ends with a 15-12 overall record after going 6-5 for fifth in the MIAC regular season. In the playoffs, the Bennies opened with a 3-1 win at No. 4 Bethel before falling to the top seeded Gusties, 3-0. Gustavus Adolphus will host the MIAC Championship on Saturday. They have a 24-4 regular mark, which included an 11-0 regular season.

Senior Gabby Heying, who was named to her second straight All-MIAC first team on Wednesday, closed her career with eight kills on 29 attacks and a .138 hitting mark to lead CSB. She also had 12 digs. For Heying, she finished 2022 with career highs for a season in points with 390.5, kills with 350, digs with 338 and service aces with 26. In her career, she accumulated 28 career double doubles (kills/digs), 56 matches with double-digit kills with 23 in 2022.   

Sophomore setter Audrey Spolidoro had 24 assists and seven digs. As a result, Spolidoro, who was also named all-league, surpassed 1,000 set assists for the season. She now has 1,015 for an average of 10.15, with both totals leading the MIAC. First-year middle blocker Mackenzie Knofczynski had seven kills on 26 attacks and hit .115.

Overall, Gustavus had the advantage in statistics with margins of 44-31 in points, 68-54 in digs and 37-26 in kills, they hit .180 (37K-14E-128A) to .007 (26K-25E-140A) for CSB. In addition, the Gusties had a 4-2 edge in blocks while both teams had three service aces.

In the early going of the opening set, Gustavus jumped to a 9-4 lead on its work at the net. On their first 11 attacks, they had five kills while CSB recorded three kills and a .000 mark. CSB closed to within 14-9 after Heying recorded her third kill. But the momentum swung back to the Gusties, who took a 17-10 lead with a 3-1 run. Down 22-14, the Bennies cut into the lead with a 4-1 run to draw within 23-18 as Heying had her fourth kill of the set. However, the deficit was too large as the Bennies fell, 25-18. In the opening set, CSB hit .020 with nine kills on 49 attacks with eight errors. The Gusties had more success with 13 kills on 44 attacks and a .182 hitting mark.

As was the case in the opening set, the Gusties took control early in the second set. After a kill by Madelyn Gregory, they led CSB, 12-6. Gustavus pushed the lead to 18-9 after a 6-3 run and led, 20-9 before Mackenzie Knofczynski had a kill for CSB. Gustavus, which hit .156 (11K-6E-32A)), took the set at 25-13. The Bennies struggled at the net with just four kills on 34 attacks, as they fell behind, 2-0, in sets.   

In the third set, the Bennies battled the Gusties to the end. A kill by Knofczynski helped CSB into a 4-4 tie but two attack errors helped Gustavus take a 7-5 lead. After CSB trailed just 9-8, the Gusties had a 5-0 run for a 14-8 lead following a block. CSB rallied to 14-12 with their own 4-0 run. After Gustavus had a 5-2 run to push the lead out to 19-14, the Bennies again tried to rally. A kill by Heying brought CSB within, 23-18, started a short rally as the Bennies closed to within 24-22 but couldn't draw any close as the Gusties advanced to the finals.