ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Despite 11 kills and a .310 hitting mark from Mackenzie Knofczynski, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (3-2) dropped a hard-fought 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 18-25, 26-28) nonconference decision to UW-Eau Claire (1-2) on Wednesday (Sept. 6) at Claire Lynch Hall. With the setback, CSB had a two-game winning streak come to an end.

Before a large crowd in the home opener, the Bennies were led by Knofczynski, who recorded her third double-digit kill performance of the season and matched a season-high of 11 kills against Puget Sound on Sept. 1. With a .310 hitting mark, she had her highest percentage since recording .375 against Pacific Lutheran. First-year right side hitter Brooke Andries recorded nine kills on 28 attacks and has a team-high 51 kills and a 2.22 kills per set average while hitting .258. First-year outside hitter Kali Jones added six kills and nine digs. The St. Cloud Orthopedics/CSB Athlete of the Week Mackenzie McDonald again led CSB in digs with 222 and now has 111 on the season. She has recorded 19 or more digs in every game this season.

Overall, CSB registered 39 kills on 169 attacks and hit .101. The Bennies had 69 digs, four total blocks, six services aces, including two by Libby Burns, and 37 set assists. Junior setter Audrey Spolidoro had 31 set assists, a service ace, a solo block and 11 digs. She recorded her third double double this year and 26^th of her career. With the 31 set assists, she now has 1,700 in her career.

UW-Eau Claire was led by Bailey Leeke with 16 kills on 32 attacks and a .375 hitting mark. Avery Pennekamp registered 13 kills and 13 digs as she recorded a double double. UW-EC recorded 62 kills on 173 attacks and hit .243. They also had 87 digs, eight total blocks and 54 set assists.

In the opening set, CSB jumped to an early 5-0 lead before the Blugolds responded with a 4-1 run. UW-EC continued its momentum, taking a 13-10 lead. A kill from Pennekamp gave the Blugolds a 22-15 lead before they closed out the 25-16 set win. In the opening set, CSB had seven kills and seven errors on 38 attacks, but UW-EC hit .333 with 13 kills on 30 attacks and had 8-of-16 side-outs.  

In the second set, the Bennies had their best hitting effort of the night and opened a 15-10 lead before recording a 25-17 decision to tie the game at 1-1.  Spolidoro had a service ace as CSB took a 3-0 lead.  UW-EC rallied back to within 6-4 before CSB retained control with solid defense and led, 11-6, after a UW-EC hitting error. With Brooke Andries' kill, CSB led, 16-13. At 17-15, the Bennies, which hit .154 with seven kills on 26 attacks and just three errors, closed on an 8-2 run for the set win.

Early in the third set, CSB, which registered 12 kills on 53 attacks, had three straight points for a 3-2 advantage.  However, UW-EC turned things around with a 4-1 run for a 6-3 lead. The Blugolds put together a 22-13 lead before finishing at 25-18. UW-EC hit .289 in the set on 15 kills off 45 attacks, recording 12-of-18 side-outs. CSB had 12 kills on 52 attacks with seven errors but were hurt by a 12-of-25 margin on side-outs.

The fourth set was a tough battle with both teams putting together rallies to try and gain the edge. Down 24-21, the Bennies battled back to a 24-24 tie when Paige Andries registered an important kill which was followed by Libby Burns' service ace as the set was tied at 24. Again tied at 26, UW-EC answered by scoring the last two points to take a hard fought set. In the final set, CSB had nine kills on 48 attacks. UW-EC had 15 kills on 54 attacks and committed nine errors for a .111 mark.

Next for CSB will be a trip to the UW-River Falls Tournament on Sept. 8-9. The Bennies open with Simpson College at 3 p.m., on Friday, Sept. 8 before facing UW-River Falls at 1 p.m., and Martin Luther College at 5 p.m., on Sept. 9.