WHITEWATER, Wis. – With Audrey Spolidoro's career-high 62 assists and a season-high 18 kills from Emma Guest, the College of Saint Benedict (7-3) rallied past No. 7 ranked Washington University-St. Louis (7-2), 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 15-13) in a dramatic win at the UW-Whitewater Invite on Friday (Sept. 15).

The Bennies, which earned a split after a 3-1 setback to No. 10 UW-Whitewater (7-1) on Friday, defeated a top-10 ranked opponent for the first time since 2016 (No. 4, Emory, five sets). In the final set against Washington U, Saint Benedict trailed, 11-8, but closed on a 7-to-2 run for the win. The Bennies, which improved to 7-3 on the year, won its fourth five-set game in five tries in 2023.

"Today was a great day for us," said CSB head volleyball coach Nicole Hess. "We knew we were going to be challenged by two very talented teams, and we were excited to see how we would handle it. We learned a lot about ourselves and showed that we can compete with some of the best teams in the country," she said.

Spolidoro set a career high of 62 in the win over Washington U-St. Louis, surpassing her mark of 59 against Texas Lutheran on Sept. 9, 2022. With 92 more set assists today, Spolidoro surpassed 1,800 set assists in her career and now has 1,886. With two double doubles today, she now has five this year and 28 in her career. With Spolidoro shining at the setter spot, the Bennies had four players (Emma Guest, 18; Mackenzie Knofczynski, 15; Kali Jones, 14; Brooke Andries, 13) with double-digit kills in the same game for the first time since a 3-2 win over Texas Lutheran on Sept. 9, 2022, at the Transy Invite. In the win over Washington U, CSB had a season-high 71 kills and attacks with 190 while hitting. 289, which is the third best hitting mark of the year.

"Against Washington U, we were down late in set five and kept competing and I could not be prouder of the fight we showed. Our bench brought passion and energy the entire day and were awesome. It was truly a team effort. We've got our work cut out for us tomorrow with another strong team and we're looking forward to it," said Hess, who team will face No. 3 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (11-0) at 1 p.m., on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 16).

Overall, today, the Bennies had 109 kills on 336 attacks for 12.11 kills/per set and a .190 hitting mark. CSB had 130 digs, including 35 by Mackenzie McDonald; 11 total blocks and 18 service aces with four by Chaeli Haupert, Guest, and Libby Burns. CSB was led by 27 kills from Guest and Jones and 25 from Knofczynski. Both Jones and Knofczynski had double-digit kills in both games today.

No. 10 UW-Whitewater 3 CSB 1 (25-15, 25-10, 17-25, 25-18)
Despite 13 kills from Jones and 10 by Knofczynski, CSB dropped a 3-1 decision to the nationally ranked UW-W (7-1). CSB had a double-double from Spolidoro with 30 assists and 13 digs. Jones had her fourth double-digit kills game and Knofczynski, who hit .250 on 24 attacks, had her fifth of the season.

For the game, CSB had with 38 kills on 146 attacks. The Bennies had four total blocks and eight service aces. UW-W hit .270 with 45 kills on 122 attacks while recording seven blocks and 10 service aces.

Game Summary
In the opening set, the Bennies dropped a 25-15 decision by converting eight kills in 34 attacks and committed 12 errors. UW-Whitewater converted 10 kills on 26 attacks for a .308 hitting mark. After trailing 7-2 early, the Bennies bounced back and with a 6-2 run cut the deficit to 9-8 in the opening set. A kill by Knofczynski gave CSB an 11-10 advantage. The Warhawks countered with a 9-2 run, to regain the edge at 19-13. Later, UW-Whitewater scored five straight points for a 25-15 decision.

In set two, the Warhawks gained early control and used a .296 hitting mark, including 10 kills on 26 attacks with just two errors, along with five blocks, to take advantage and record a 25-10 win. After a kill from Paige Andries, CSB trailed, 4-3 in the second set but UWW had seven straight points for an 10-3 lead. The Warhawks extended their to 14-5 and finished off the set with an 11-5 run for the 2-0 set lead.

In the third set, the Bennies used an early run and consistent hitting to take a 25-17 win and extend the game another set. CSB, which had 11 kills on 37 attacks with just two errors, had a .243 hitting mark. UWW hit .258 with 12 kills on 31 attacks but CSB had a 4-1 edge in service aces and a 3-0 margin in blocks. CSB used 6-2 run to build a 9-5 lead. After McDonald's ace and kill by Knofczynski, CSB took a 17-12 lead. Guest had her sixth kill of the game to close out the set as CSB took a 25-17 decision.

In set four, CSB which hit .152 with 13 kills on 46 attacks, built a 5-3 lead on back-to-back kills from Jones. Later, a 4-1 run by UW-W provided an 11-8 advantage. Knofczynski and Jones had back-to-back kills to help CSB put within, 11-10. UW-W, which had a .237 hitting mark on 12 kills on 38 attacks, extended their advantage to 19-13 with an 8-3 run.  A kill by CSB's Paige Andries cut the lead to 20-16 but UW-W was able to close out the set and game with a 25-18 decision.

 CSB 3 No. 7 Washington U 2 (25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 15-13)
With a career-high 62 set assists from Spolidoro plus double-digit kills by four players, CSB rallied late to record a 3-2 win over No. 7 Washington.

Guest led the offensive attack with a season-best 18 kills on 54 attacks (.222 hitting pct.) while recording 10 digs for her second double-double of the year and 14^th of her career.

Knofczynski, who had her team-high sixth double-digit kills game, had a season-high 15 kills on 32 attacks for a .406 hitting mark. Jones had double-figure kills in both games as she had 14 on 40 attacks and a season-best .275 hitting mark. And, B. Andries added 13 kills on 33 attacks for a .364 hitting mark.

McDonald had 19 digs to lead the team and record her 10^th straight double-digit game this year. It was the third time she had 19 digs in a game this year.

In the win over Washington U, CSB had a season-high 71 kills and attacks with 190 while hitting. 289, which is the third best hitting mark of the year.

Game Summary
CSB opened a 1-0 lead against the Bears with one of the best hitting performances of the year. The Bennies, led by Guest with seven kills and a .375 mark, hit .429 as a team with 16 kills on 35 attacks and just one error in a 25-22 win. CSB also had four aces and two blocks. In the opening set, CSB forged a 16-11 advantage on a service ace from Guest, who had five early kills for CSB. However, Washington U rebounded to tie the set at 17-17, then again at 19-19, and finally at 20-20. The Bennies recorded the final three points of the match to seal the 25-22 victory. 

In set two, the Bennies rolled out to a 7-5 lead with kills from Jones and Guest. The Bennies built a 17-12 advantage before the Bears responded with an 8-2 run to take the lead. CSB recovered and took a 21-20 advantage and then finished off the set 25-22 as Knofczynski had a kill for set point to go ahead a 2-0 in the match. Hitting was critical again for CSB with 20 kills on 47 attacks for a .362 hitting mark.  

In the third set, the Bears hit .406 with 15 kills on 32 attacks and built an early lead at 4-1. They extended the margin to 11-7 and finished off a set with a 25-21 decision. After trailing early, CSB kept battling and Knofczynski had consecutive kills to cut the lead to 19-15. However, the Bennies couldn't draw any closer.

Early in the fourth set, B. Andries and Knofczynski had kills as the Bennies took a 3-2 advantage. However, Washington U had a 6-2 run for an 8-5 lead. After a 4-1 run, CSB took a 14-11 advantage. The Bears responded with a 14-6 set-ending run to take the fourth set at 25-20. The hitting marks for both teams dipped in the fourth set with the Bears converting 12 kills on 43 attacks for a .116 mark. CSB had 10 kills on 41 attacks for a .098 hitting mark.  

In the fifth set, B. Andries had a trio of kills as the Bennies took a 3-2 lead. A pair of kills by Knofczynski gave CSB a 6-4 edge. The Bears scored four straight points for an 8-6 lead. After trailing 11-8, the Bennies, which hit .200 (10 kills on 30 attacks), battled back to a 12-12 tie after a Guest ace and kill by B. Andries. Jones finished the set and gave CSB a dramatic win with a pair of kills on the final two points for a 15-13 decision.

The Bennies wrap up the UW-Whitewater tournament Saturday at 1 p.m. taking on No. 3 ranked UW-Oshkosh.