ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After a successful trip west, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (3-1) will return home and host No. 25 UW-Eau Claire (1-2) in the home opener at 7 p.m., on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at Claire Lynch Hall.
 
The Bennies opened their season with a 3-1 record at the Puget Sound Premiere in Tacoma, Washington. CSB defeated Pacific Lutheran, 3-2, on Friday, Sept. 1. Later that day, they were defeated by Puget Sound in five sets, 3-2. On Saturday (Sept. 2), the Bennies bounced back for a 3-2 win over Eastern University, which had received votes in the AVCA/TARAFLEX DIII national preseason poll on August 23. CSB capped off their trip with a 3-1 win over Adrian College.

After facing UW-EC, the Bennies travel to the UW-River Falls Tournament on Sept. 8-9 for games with Simpson College at 3 p.m., on Friday (Sept. 8) followed by match ups with UW-River Falls at 1 p.m., and Martin Luther College at 5 p.m., on Saturday, Sept. 9.
 
About the Blugolds
UW - Eau Claire, which was ranked No. 25 in the August 23 AVCA/TARAFLEX national coaches preseason poll, opened 1-2 at the Pacific Coast Classic in California. The Blugolds had a 3-0 win over Whittier; a 3-1 loss against NCAA DIII No. 3 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; and a 3-0 setback to Pomona-Pitzer.  The Blugolds are led by senior setter, Charlie Nelson, who has 55 assists and 27 digs on the season. Avery Pennekamp leads the hitters for the Blugolds with 23 kills in 10 sets for 2.30/set.  

UW-EC is directed by veteran head coach Kim Wudi, who has led the team for the past 17 years. With her guidance, the Bluegolds have won one national championship, reached two Final Fours, and participated in 11 NCAA tournaments. She is a four-time WIAC Coach of the year, including in 2021.
 
Series Notes
In the all-time series, both teams are tied at 16-16. In home match ups in the series, CSB is 5-2 but sit 4-9 in away contests against UW-EC. In the last meeting, CSB took a 3-2 loss on Sept. 16, 2022. The first match up between the schools resulted in a 3-1 loss by the Bennies on Sept. 11, 1993, in Minneapolis, Minn. The teams have split (5-to-5) the last 10 games. The Bennies won six straight games from Sept. 3, 2011, to August 29, 2014.
 
CSB Leaders
Senior All-MIAC outside hitter Emma Guest leads the Bennies with eight service aces and 66 digs this season. Through four games this year, Guest has 35 kills on 135 attacks for 1.84/set and a .148 hitting mark. In her career, she now has 60 service aces and 546 digs (2.74/set). Guest has played in 55 matches and 199 sets with 465 career kills (2.34/set) and 1,615 attacks.

Junior All-MIAC setter Audrey Spolidoro leads the team with 133 assists in the 2023 season and has 1,669 in her career. She ranks fifth in the MIAC in 2023 with 7.0 sets per game. She also has eight kills, six service aces and 48 digs (2.53/set) this year. In her career, Spolidoro has totaled 114 kills on 435 attacks for a .159 hitting mark. Spolidoro also has 1,669 career assists or 8.52/set. She has totaled 43 service aces, 502 digs (2.56/set) and 39 total blocks in her career.

First-year performers Kali Jones and Brooke Andries both have recorded 42 kills (2.21/set) to lead CSB this season. Jones has 50 points, is hitting .106 on 151 attacks, and has four service aces along with 40 digs. Twice this season, Jones has a career-high 14 kills. Andries, who has three straight games of double-digit kills, ranks seventh in the MIAC with a .290 hitting mark. She has 42 kills on 100 attacks with 13 errors. She has recorded at least a .308 hitting percentage in each of the past three games. Andries has a career-best of 14 kills on 28 attacks (three errors) for a .393 hitting mark (Eastern University).

Sophomore middle blocker Mackenzie Knofczynski has 34 kills for 1.79/set. On 90 attacks, she has a .200 hitting mark. Knofczynski ranks second in the MIAC with 1.00 blocks/set and her 19 total blocks ranks first in the conference.

Senior defensive specialist Mackenzie McDonald leads CSB with 89 digs, which leads the MIAC. She also is fifth in the league with 4.68 digs/set. McDonald now has surpassed 900 career digs (903) and averages 4.20/set in 58 games. She also has 66 service aces with 121 assists in her career.

As a team, the Bennies lead the MIAC in blocks with 40.0, including 18 block solos. CSB is ninth in the league in kills at 10.37/set, seventh in points with 14.32/set while sitting seventh in hitting percentage at .177. CSB is 10^th in assists at 8.47/set; sixth in digs with 309 for 16.26/set and ninth in service aces at 35 or 1.84/set.
 
CSB led by Head Coach Nicole Hess
CSB Head Coach Nicole Hess has a career mark of 307-252, including 243-120 at Saint Ben's with a 93-39 MIAC record. With Hess at the helm, CSB has won 20 or more games five times with a best of 29 in 2012. In that period, CSB has finished third or more in the MIAC seven times, including second four times. In program history, the Bennies have 21 seasons of 20 wins or more and 16 seasons of at least 25 wins (30 wins three times). She ranks second all-time in wins at CSB with her 243 trailing only Carol Howe-Veenstra, who was 366-150 in her career at CSB including 176-36 in the MIAC.