ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- Despite double doubles from
Kali Jones (11K/15D) and
Audrey Spolidoro (33A/14D), the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision (15-25, 22-25, 25-14, 14-25) to (RV) Gustavus Adolphus in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday (Oct. 26) in Family Day at Claire Lynch Hall.
With the loss, CSB falls to 8-11 overall and to 4-3 in the MIAC. With the win, Gustavus Adolphus improved to 17-9 and 7-0 in the MIAC. Next for St. Ben's will be a three-game road swing, starting on Oct. 30 at Carleton at 7 p.m. Then CSB goes to Concordia-Moorhead on Nov. 2 and Saint Mary's on Nov. 6 before closing the regular season at home against St. Olaf on Senior Night on Nov. 9.
Spolidoro joined an elite club at CSB, becoming the 3rd Bennie in school history to record 3,000 assists & 1,000 digs in a career. Spolidoro, who now has 3,207 set assists and 1,007 digs, joins Beth Hanson (2006-09, 5,098A/1,308D) & Taya Kockelman (2011-2014, 4,577A/1,066D) in the 3K/1K assists/digs club at St. Benedict. With another double-double of 33 assists and 14 digs, Spolidoro recorded her 51
st career double-double.
As for Jones, she put together an outstanding performance both hitting and serving. The sophomore had 11 kills on 33 attacks for a .242 hitting mark. She also had a career-high of eight service aces, which is a team-season high and just two away from the school record of 10. Jones also had a team-high 15 digs and two block assists in the all-around performance. Her eight service aces helped CSB match its second highest team service ace total this season of 12.
The Bennies also had nine kills from both sophomore
Brooke Andries (9K/5E/35A), who also had two block assists, and junior
Mackenzie Knofczynski (9K/7E/21A), who added three blocks assists as CSB had eight total team blocks. Sophomore
McKenna Moehrle supplied eight kills and a team-high five block assists.
As a team, CSB hit .120 with 43 kills on 150 attacks and 25 errors. However, Gustavus Adolphus held the edge in most statistical categories, including hitting .212 with 47 kills on 132 attacks and totaled nine team blocks. Gustavus also had a 77-to-58 edge in digs and a 42-to-41 margin in set assists.
With a .294 hitting mark on 14 kills in 34 attacks, GAC registered a 25-15 victory in the opening set. CSB had three kills from Knofczynski but hit just .051 as a team with nine kills on 39 attacks. Gusties used a 4-to-2 block edge as an advantage in the set. CSB fell behind, 9-3 as the Gusties converted five kills of 13 attacks (.385) early in the set. Later, CSB had a 4-0 run to draw within 17-13 before GAC closed on an 8-2 run.
Using a 13-to-11 edge in kills and a 3-to-2 margin blocks, GAC rallied from an early deficit to take set two by a 25-22 score. In the set, the teams traded the lead five times with seven tie scores. CSB jumped to a 4-2 lead before, GAC had a 5-1 run to lead, 7-5. A pair of Jones' kills helped CSB to cut the advantage to 13-11. With back-to-back blocks by Knofczynski, the Bennies tied it at 21-21. Gusties responded with a 4-1 run to close set at 25-22.
In a 25-14 set three win, the Bennies dominated on offense and defense. St. Benedict hit .294 with 14 kills on 34 attacks and used four service aces to rebound for a set win and moved within, 2-1. GAC jumped to a 3-0 lead in the third set before Jones recorded her sixth kill of the game to stop the run and start a 9-0 run by CSB. She also had a trio of service aces and Andries added block for a 9-3 edge. A pair of kills from Jones helped CSB go on a 4-0 run for a 16-10 lead. Later, CSB moved into a 22-13 lead after Moehrle's kill – her sixth of the game – and closed on a 3-1 run.
In the fourth set, GAC used a .480 hitting mark with 13 kills on 25 attacks and just one error to stop CSB's momentum and pick up its seventh win of the MIAC season. The Gusties opened up a 6-0 lead and extended the advantage to 11-4. Later, they had a 6-4 run for a 17-8 margin and St. Ben's was unable to rebound.
