ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senior outside hitter Emma Guest had a double double and first-year outside hitter Kali Jones added a team-high 13 kills but the (RV) College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (17-7) dropped a 3-1 (12-25, 25-21, 13-25, 16-25) decision to No. 3 Northwestern (24-3) in nonconference play on Wednesday night (Nov. 1).

In a matchup of two of the top four teams in the most recent NCAA DIII Region IX rankings, Northwestern, ranked number one in the region, took the game in four sets to improve to 24-3. The Bennies, which were ranked No. 4 in Region IX, had a two-game winning streak end in dropping to 17-7 on the season.

The key for Northwestern was its hitting as they finished with 55 kills on 143 attacks for a .301 percentage. The Bennies had 46 kills on 154 attacks and hit .104. The Eagles also had a 9-to-3 edge in blocks with a 75-to-65 margin digs.

CSB, which will face St. Olaf on Friday (7 p.m.) and No. 20 UW-Stevens Point on Saturday (2 p.m.) in Northfield, Minn., was led by Guest, who finished with 12 kills (45 attacks) and 18 digs for her 21^st career double double. She recorded her 29^th career double-digit kills game. Jones added a team-best 13 kills on 36 attacks with seven digs and a service ace. Jones now has 13 games of double-digit kills in 2023. Junior setter Audrey Spolidoro added 43 set assists with eight digs. She now has 845 set assists on the year with her seventh game of 40 or more set assists.

Senior middle blocker Paige Andries was one of three Bennies with seven kills as she did it on 15 attacks and a .400 hitting mark. Sophomore middle blocker Mackenzie Knofczynski and first-year outside hitter Brooke Andries also had seven kills for CSB. First-year defensive specialist Ingrid Noha recorded a team-best 20 digs.

Game Summary -
In the opening set, Northwestern jump to a 16-11 lead, and, then used a 9-1 closing run for a 25-12 victory as the Bennies hit just .071 on 10 kills in 42 attacks. The Eagles hit extremely well with 14 kills on 41 attacks and two errors for a .293 mark. They also had a 4-to-0 edge in blocks in earning the set win.

Saint Benedict bounced back to tie the game at one set each with a 25-21 win. The Bennies took control early, jumping to a 7-5 lead, and extending the margin to 10-5. With an 8-3 run, including kills from Jones, P. Andries and Guest, the Bennies led, 17-9. A kill again by Guest helped CSB to 20-12 margin. After a service ace from Noha, CSB took a 24-19 lead. CSB, which had a team-match-high .283 mark with 20 kills on 46 attacks, closed the set at 25-21 to tie the match.

In the third set, Northwestern opened a 6-2 lead before the Bennies responded with a 6-2 run of their own for a tie at 8-8. After trailing, 10-8, the Bennies had a 4-1 run to grab a 12-11 advantage on a kill by Jones.  With a 14-1 run, the Eagles took the third set at 25-13. In taking the 2-1 lead, the Eagles hit .360 with 12 kills on 25 attacks and three errors. CSB had just six kills on 26 attacks.

Northwestern opened up a 4-2 lead early in the third set before extending the margin to 11-6 with a 7-4 run. After a kill from Jones, her 11^th of the match, the Bennies drew within, 11-8.  Abby Glanzer, who had a match-high 20 kills and hit. 259, recorded a trio of kills to give the Eagles a 15-10 advantage. From there, the Eagles, which hit .317 on 18 kills on 41 attacks, closed on a 10-6 run to earn the set win and game victory.