ST. PETER, Minn. -- The (RV) College of Saint Benedict (15-6, 7-1 MIAC), which had a 35
th career double double from junior
Audrey Spolidoro, dropped a 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-11) road decision to No. 20 Gustavus Adolphus (20-6, 9-0 MIAC) in a first-place matchup in the MIAC on Saturday.
With the setback, the Bennies fall to 15-6 overall and 7-1 in the MIAC. CSB sits in second place in the MIAC, a game in back of the first place Gusties. Saint Benedict now returns home for a two-game home stand starting with Carleton on Wednesday, Oct. 25. The Bennies will also host Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Claire Lynch Hall.
Against Gustavus Adolphus, Spolidoro had 17 set assists and 11 digs along with two kills and two block assists. With the 17 set assists, she has moved into eighth place all-time on CSB's career charts with 2,278. Tonight, Spolidoro, who has 742 set assists on the season, moved past Lynn Gustafson (1998-91), who had 2,262 set assists in her career.
First-year outside hitter
Kali Jones led CSB with seven kills while first-year right
Brooke Andries added six. Both senior outside hitter
Emma Guest and sophomore middle blocker
Mackenzie Knofczynski had five kills.
In the matchup of the two top teams in the league, CSB lost the statistical battle to the Gusties. GAC had stat advantages in kills, 48-to-30; blocks, 6-to-2; assists, 45-to-25; and digs 68-to-54. The Bennies held a 5-to-4 edge in service aces. The Gusties hit .333 for the game with 48 kills on 126 attacks. CSB hit .101 with 30 kills on its 129 attacks.
Game Summary
In the opening set, CSB and GAC had a battle with both teams putting together a solid hitting performance. The Gusties out-hit the Bennies, .356 (18K-2E-45A) to .227 (13K-3E-44A) although CSB led early. The Bennies jumped to 10-4 and 14-7 leads as Guest had a trio of kills. But the Gusties rallied with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 14-13. After CSB responded to take a 20-14 lead, the Gusties scored eight straight points to gain an advantage at 22-20 and with a 3-1 run finished off the 25-21 first set triumph.
In the second set, the Gusties continued to excel at the net and took a 25-18 decision after hitting a match-high .371 with 15 kills on 35 attacks and two errors. The Bennies fell off to .047 with nine kills on 43 attacks and seven errors. CSB had an early 5-2 lead before GAC responded with a 6-2 run for an 8-7 lead. After the teams had four ties, the Gusties had a four-point run to grab a 20-16 advantage and brought home the 25-18 win with a 5-2 closing run.
In the final set, GAC hit .283 with 15 kills on 46 attacks as they built an 8-2 lead and cruised to the win and with it the game. CSB had eight kills on 42 attacks with seven errors.
