ST. JOSEPH, Minn. –
McKenna Moehrle had a season-high 15 kills and led four players in double-digit kills while setter
Audrey Spolidoro had her 50
th career double double as the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (7-10) rallied for a 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-21, 15-12) nonconference win over No. 13 Northwestern (Minn.) on Friday (Oct. 18) at Claire Lynch Hall.
In the come-from-behind win over a nationally-ranked team, CSB is now 3-3 in games that have gone to five sets. With the victory, CSB has won its fourth game in five decisions and now sit 7-10 overall. It was quite a way to begin a three-game home stand as the Bennies had four players reach double-digit kills for the first time this year. Now CSB will prepare for a pair of home MIAC games on Oct. 25 against Hamline (7 p.m.) and Gustavus Adolphus on Oct. 26 (5 p.m.).
And, CSB had another double-double from Spolidoro, who now has 50 in her stellar career. She had 48 assists and 19 digs. She now has 3,141 set assists (6
th all-time at CSB) and with her 19 digs has 986 in her career.
As for Moehrle, she tied her season-high in kills and now has reached double-digits 11 times, including four in a row. She has recorded 15 kills in a game three times. Tonight, she hit .243 with the kills coming off 37 attacks. She also had three block assists. Joining her in double-digit kills was a trio with 13 each including sophomores
Brooke Andries,
Kali Jones and junior
Mackenzie Knofczynski.
Jones recorded her 18
th career double double with the 13 kills going along with 19 digs. She hit .179 with 13 kill s on 39 attacks and added three block assists. Andries hit .281 with her 13 kills coming off of 32 attacks and she had a pair of block assists. And, Knofczynski hit .290 with 13 kills on 31 attacks. She is also the MIAC leader in blocks per game and added five block assists tonight as the Bennies had eight total team blocks.
In terms of team numbers, CSB finished with a .211 hitting mark with 60 kills on 175 attacks and 23 errors. It was the fourth time this season that the Bennies had registered 60 kills or more in a game. In addition, the Bennies had 12 service aces, including four from Jones and three by
Libby Burns. That total is tied for the second most in a game this season. Additionally, the Bennies had 75 digs as three players hit double-digits.
Chaeli Haupert recorded 17 to join Spolidoro and Jones.
In the opening set, Northwestern, which tallied three blocks, hit .206 with 11 kills on 34 attacks and just four errors while owning a 66 percent side-out edge to win, 25-21. CSB hit .194 with 13 kills on 36 attacks and six errors and had a 56 percent side-out edge. Up just one point (21-20), UNW had a 4-1 run to close the set.
In the second set, CSB dominated at the net, hitting .314 on 14 kills in 35 attacks. St. Ben's took a 9-6 lead before NNW rallied to take a 12-11 lead. Then CSB had a 9-5 run for a 20-16 lead before closing it at 25-21.
In the third set, UNW hit .278 (16K-6E-36A) to earn a 25-17 win. The Bennies had 10 kills on 38 attacks but six errors as they fell behind, 2-1 in sets.
However, the Bennies rallied before 382 in attendance at Claire Lynch Hall. In the fourth set, CSB had a 12-to-11 edge in kills as they had a .184 hitting mark to just .122 for Northwestern in route to a 25-21 win. The Bennies also used four kills from Andries to earn the win and a 66 percent on side-outs (14-of-21) also played a key role as the Bennies tied the game at 2-2 in sets.
In the fifth and deciding set, CSB, which hit .286 with 11 kills on 28 attacks, jumped to a 9-6 lead before UNW rallied to tie the set at 11-11 with a 5-2 run. However, CSB had a kill from Andries for a 12-11 lead and another from her at 14-12 as the Bennies captured the 15-12 decision.
