NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Senior Paige Andries had 11 kills and hit .733 but the (RV) College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (17-8, 9-2 MIAC) dropped their final game of the MIAC regular season in a 3-0 (22-25, 21-25, 19-25) setback to St. Olaf (18-8, 7-4 MIAC) on Friday night.

Saint Benedict has clinched second place in the MIAC and a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament. CSB finished 9-2 in the MIAC, a jump of three wins over the 6-5 team a year ago. However, the Bennies are playoff-bound for a conference-record 22nd time and the eighth straight season after its top-two finish in the MIAC standings. The Bennies, which were ranked fourth in the most recent NCAA DIII Region IX rankings, fell to 17-8 overall. On Saturday, CSB will stay in Northfield to play No. 20 UW-Stevens Point at 2 p.m., on Saturday in the regular season finale.

Against St. Olaf, Andries had her best hitting mark of the season at .733, converting 11 kills on 15 attacks while also registering three block assists. She had her fourth double-digit kills game of the season and ninth of her career. Senior Emma Guest added eight kills and eight digs while senior Olivia Thompson had six kills on 17 attacks for a .353 hitting mark. Junior setter Audrey Spolidoro had 32 set assists, eight digs and two block assists. She now has 877 set assists on the season and 2,418 in her career (8th all-time at CSB).

The key to the win for St. Olaf, which is now 7-4 in the MIAC (third place) and 18-8 overall, was its hitting in which they had a .268 mark on 49 kills in 123 attacks. The Oles were led by Catherine Moore with 13 kills and a .269 hitting mark.

The Bennies also had a solid hitting mark of .214 with 39 kills on 126 attacks. The statistics were on the side of the Oles, who also had a 9-to-4 edge in service aces, a 6.0-to-3.0 advantage in total blocks as well as a 67-to-48 margin in digs.

Game Summary

In the opening set, St. Olaf captured a closely contest, 25-22 by hitting .167 with 15 kills. The Bennies hit .179 with 11 kills and three aces but came up just a little short. The Oles opened up a 3-0 lead before the Bennies took the lead with a 6-1 run at 6-4. A kill by P. Andries and a service ace from Guest helped CSB to a 12-11 lead. St. Olaf responded with a 6-2 run to take a 17-13 advantage. The Bennies rallied with a 5-2 run to draw within, 19-18 after kills by Spolidoro and Guest. However, St. Olaf closed at 6-4 to take a 1-0 set lead.

The Oles opened up a 7-5 lead in the second set before the Bennies rallied for a 9-8 lead after a P. Andries kill. After kills by Guest and P. Andries, plus a Libby Burns' service ace, the Bennies took a 17-14 advantage. Then, St. Olaf answered with an 8-1 run for a 22-18 before closing the set at 25-21 for a 2-0 lead. In the set, St. Olaf hit .368 with 19 kills on 38 attacks and just four errors. CSB also had a solid hitting effort at .273 with 15 kills on 44 attacks and just three efforts.

In the final set, St. Olaf opened up a 4-2 lead before CSB had a 3-1 run to draw even at 5-5. The Oles took a 10-7 lead with a 5-2 run. Down 12-8, the Bennies had a 3-1 run to close within, 13-11. Then with a Brooke Andries' kill, CSB drew even at 13. The teams were also tied at 14, 15 and 16 before P. Andries had her 11^th kill and Emma Guest her 8^th for an 18-16 advantage. The Oles, which had 16 kills on 42 attacks for a .286 mark to .195 for CSB on 13 kills in 41 attacks, had a closing run of 9-1 to take the third set at 25-19 and earn the game win.