ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – With a 3-0 sweep of Minnesota Morris, the College of Saint Benedict split a pair of games at the CSB Quad Tournament at Claire Lynch Hall on Saturday (Oct. 14).

CSB improved to 14-5 overall with the 3-0 win (25-18, 25-16, 25-21) over Minnesota Morris (14-6) in the final game of the tourney. The Bennies also dropped a 3-0 decision to Wisconsin River Falls (16-7) in nonconference play. Now the Bennies, which sit 6-0 in the MIAC, will travel to play a pair of road MIAC games at Hamline on Friday, Oct. 20 and at Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday, Oct. 21.

CSB head coach Nicole Hess was proud of her CSB team, which bounced back with an impressive sweep of UM-Morris to close the CSB Quad Tourney.

"I'm very proud of how we responded tonight," said Hess. "We served tough, and our passers did a great job of keeping us in system. It was a great way to end the day," she said.

By the numbers - tourney rundown

In the two games of the tournament, CSB hit .136 as a team with 76 kills (12.67/set) on 272 attacks. The Bennies added nine service aces, 138 digs (23.0/set) and nine total blocks. Leading the way was senior outside hitter Emma Guest with 20 kills on 70 attacks and a .143 hitting mark. She also contributed three service aces and 18 digs. Junior setter Audrey Spolidoro had two more double doubles and has 33 in her career as she totaled 62 set assists and 24 digs. For her career, she now has 2,214 assists and sits just 30 assists from moving into ninth all-time at CSB (Vicki Razinger, 1992-93; and Marie Liekhus, 1998-2000-01, 2,243).

Also, for CSB, Mackenzie Knofczynski had 16 kills (2.67/set) on 44 attacks and hit .205 while recording three blocks. First-year right-side hitter Brooke Andries totaled 12 kills (2.40) with a .407 hitting mark. First year outside hitter Kali Jones had 13 kills (2.17/set) and added 21 digs. In addition, senior defensive specialist Mackenzie McDonald totaled 38 digs and had double-digit totals (18, 20) in both games as she now has 19 double-digit totals in 20 matches this season.

Game Summary
UW-River Falls 3 CSB 0
Saint Benedict had a six-game winning streak end in a loss to UW-River Falls, 3-0 (23-25, 18-25, 18-25).

The Bennies, which had swept UW-River Falls, 3-0, on Sept. 9, were out-shot by the Falcons. UW-River Falls hit .196 with 41 kills on 143 attacks while CSB hit .13 with 35 kills on 138 attacks. UW-RF held edges in service aces, 10-to-4; blocks, 7-to-4; and assists, 39-to-31.

Jones had a team-high 10 kills on 30 attacks for a hitting mark of .200 while recording nine digs. For the 32nd time in her career, Spolidoro had a double double with 26 set assists and 13 digs. She also had a trio of kills. Guest had nine kills on 34 attacks, seven digs and a service ace. McDonald supplied a team-high 18 digs.

In the opening set, Knofczynski had a pair of kills as the Bennies took a 9-6 lead.  After moving to a 12-8 lead, UW-RF, which outhit CSB, .222 (14 kills, 45 attacks) to .174 (14 kills, 46 attacks), had four straight points for a 12-12 tie.  The Falcons took a 16-15 lead after a 3-0 run and finished with a 25-23 win for a 1-0 set lead.

In the second set, UW-RF jumped ahead, 6-2, before CSB had a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 8-5 after an ace from Libby Burns.  Then, the Falcons put together a 6-3 run for a 14-8 lead. Trailing 16-10, CSB had a 5-0 run to draw within, 16-15. But UW-RF took control with a 7-2 run for a 23-17 lead and moved onto a 2-0 set lead in a 25-18 win. The Falcons hit 158 with 15 kills on 57 attacks while CSB had eight kills on 53 attacks.

In the third set, CSB trailed 4-0 and 7-4 and couldn't draw even throughout the set as the Falcons won, 25-18, to capture the game, 3-0. In the matchup, the Falcons hit .220 on 12 kills in 41 attacks while CSB totaled .179 on 13 kills in 39 attacks.

CSB 3 Minnesota Morris 0
After the setback to UW-River Falls, the Bennies recorded their sixth 3-0 win of the season by scores of 25-18, 25-16 and 25-21.

Leading CSB to the win was B. Andries and Guest, who both had 11 kills, and Spolidoro with yet another double double (digs, set assists).

Andries hit .500 with 20 attacks and just one error while contributing a block assist. Guest hit .222 on 36 attacks and supplied two service aces and 11 digs as she recorded her 17^th double double of her career. Knofczynski added 10 kills on 24 attacks and hit .208 while recording two block assists.

Spolidoro had her 33rd double double with 36 assists and 11 digs. Four players (Spolidoro, Guest, McDonald, and Kali Jones) had double digit digs. McDonald led CSB with 20 digs and she has seven times record 20 or more in a game.

In the first set, the Bennies opened up a 5-1 lead after a kill by Knofczynski. Later, Guess recorded a kill as the Bennies moved ahead 10-6. With a block by Paige Andries and B. Andries, CSB built a 13-7 advantage.  Kills by Guess and P. Andries pushed the lead to 16-9. Two kills from Kali Jones gave CSB a 20-12 advantage as CSB cruised to a 25-18 win and a 1-0 lead. The Bennies hit .222 on 18 kills in 45 attacks.

In the second set, CSB rolled to a 7-1 lead after B. Andries and P. Andries both recorded kills. Later CSB pushed the advantage to 15-7 after Guest had her seventh kill of the game. The Bennies, which hit .176 with 11 kills on 34 attacks earned a 25-16 win for a 2-0 lead. Key to the second set win was an 81 percent (13-of-16) side out total.

In the third set, the teams traded points before, CSB broke from a 7-7 tie with a 4-1 run for an 11-8 advantage. After CSB had an 18-14 lead, the Cougars responded with a 5-1 run to draw even at 19-19. But the Bennies had an answer as Knofczynski's two kills, including the set and match winner, was part of a 6-2 closing run.