RIVER FALLS, Wis. -  Led by a career-best performance by first-year outside hitter Kali Jones, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (4-2) won for the third time in four matches by rallying past Simpson College (2-3-0), 3-2 (27-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-20, 15-10) at the UW-River Falls Falcon Tournament, which opened on Friday (Sept. 8).
 
For the third time in six games, Saint Benedict was involved in a five-set match. For the second time, CSB rallied from down 2-1 to record a win as they improved to 4-2. Saint Benedict improved to 25-5 all-time against Simpson with an eighth straight win dating back to October 2009.
 
On Saturday (Sept. 9), the Bennies will face host UW-River Falls at 1 p.m., and Martin Luther College at 5 p.m. on the second day of the tourney. 
 
By the Numbers
 
Jones recorded a season-high 19 kills and added 13 digs for her first double double at CSB. She now has three double-digit kills game this season and the 19 kills this year is a team-season-best. She also had a season-high 51 attacks as she hit .196 today. With 13 digs, she registered her second high mark this season. She now leads CSB with 67 kills (2.39 kills/set) this season.
 
Senior outside hitter Emma Guest had a balanced game with her 14th career double double of 10 kills, and a team-high 20 digs. With three service aces as well, she increased her career total to 64 service aces, 481 kills (.143 hitting percentage) and 575 digs.
 
Junior Audrey Spolidoro recorded a game-season high of 41 set assists, which increased her career total to 1,741. Spolidoro also added eight digs and one kill.
 
Sophomore Mackenzie Knofczynski recorded five blocks and 12 kills (.219 hitting percentage) as she now has four double-digit kills games this season. After her performance tonight, she has a team-best .216 hitting mark this year.
 
Senior Mackenzie McDonald also had 13 digs making tonight her sixth double digit performance of the season.
 
Overall, CSB had 57 kills on 198 attacks and hit .131 as the Bennies outhit Simpson, which had 51 kills on 181 attacks for a .099 hitting mark.
 
Opponent Breakdown
 
Simpson was led by Lauren Roman and Peyton Mitchell. Roman had 11 kills, one dig and a hitting percentage of .400. Mitchell had eight kills, three digs and a hitting percentage of .227.
 
Set Breakdown
 
In the opening set, Saint Ben's recorded a 27-25 win to grab a 1-0 lead. CSB led, 24-19 before Simpson rallied late to force a 25-25 tie. Then CSB scored consecutive points for the win as the set included 11 tie scores and four lead changes. The Bennies had 16 kills, six hitting errors, 43 total attacks for a .233 hitting mark.
 
In the second set, Simpson bounced back by taking a 25-22 decision. The Storm took an 11-7 lead before CSB rallied for a 13-11 lead. After CSB had a 19-15 lead, Simpson closed on a 10-3 run. The Storm had 11 kills, eight hitting errors, 41 total attacks. 
 
In the third set, Simpson College took a 2-1 lead over the Bennies with a 25-19 decision. CSB was outhit by the Storm, which had a 11-to-9 edge in kills. After CSB took an 11-4 lead, Simpson responded with a 16-9 run for a 20-14 advantage.
 
In the fourth set, the tide turned for CSB as they took a 25-20 decision to tie the game at 2-2 in sets. The Bennies recorded 14 kills on 45 attacks for a .156 hitting mark while Simpson had just seven kills on 33 attacks. The Bennies opened up an 8-2 lead and extended the margin to 20-14 after a kill by Brooke Andries. CSB had kills by Paige Andries, who had nine in the game, and Guest to close out the set.
 
In the final set, Saint Ben's jumped out to a 10-4 lead and never let Simpson pull closer than four points. CSB had eight kills on 26 attacks and hit .077 while the Storm recorded seven kills on 25 attacks.