WHITEWATER, Wis. – Senior Audrey Spolidoro recorded her 56^th career double double and sophomore Brooke Andries had eight kills, but the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 11 Washington U in the opening round of the NCAA DIII Regional Tourney at Kris Russell Arena on Thursday afternoon (Nov. 21).

Saint Benedict, which won the MIAC Tournament Championship to earn the NCAA DIII Regional Tournament berth, finished 15-12 overall. Along the way, CSB won seven straight games leading up to the game today. And the run included wins in 12 of the last 15 contests of the season. With the loss, CSB is now 23-24 all-time in 24 appearances in the NCAA DIII Tournament. Washington U improved to 29-6 and now faces No. 17 Wisconsin-Platteville, who defeated Edgewood in three sets on Thursday.

In a post-game press conference (link to press conference), St. Ben's head coach Nicole Hess said the Bennies battled and stayed together, an attribute which defined this 2024 team.

"Washington U is tough, and they put a lot of pressure on us. I was proud of our fight, and it would have been even more difficult if we didn't stick together. But one of the things we have done all year is stay together through the good and the bad," said Hess. "I am really proud of our 18 athletes and our coaching staff for one heck of a run here to make it to this point."

In the past week, the Bennies had won three straight MIAC Tourney games and the run included wins over the No. 1 (Gustavus Adolphus) and No. 2 (St. Catherine) seeds in straight sets.

It was a special year for CSB volleyball, noted Hess in the press conference.

"This team and their fight and story - and to watch them to come together - was special," added Hess, who coached her ninth team at the NCAA Tourney. "And the run – seven wins in a row and being down 14-13 in set five on Tuesday - has been incredible. The cool thing is we got here. Now they know what it feels like to be here and moving forward the goal continues to be better every year. It takes a team to get there first and this group did that. Now it is building on that legacy and the players that came before."

For Spolidoro, she recorded her 56^th career double-double, including her team-leading 20^th this year. In the final game of her career, she had 23 assists and 10 digs. Named first team AVCA All-Region on Wednesday, she finished this year with a career-best 1,038 assists or 9.79 per set and totaled 352 digs for 3.32 per set.  The senior from Cottage Grove, Minn., concluded her career with 3,503 career assists and 1,094 digs. She is just the third setter in school history with 3,000 assists and 1,000 or more digs. In 381 career sets, she also had 232 kills, 94 service aces, 123 total blocks and 390.5 points.

But more than all the numbers, said Hess, is the leader that Spolidoro was for this team.

"I can't say enough about Audrey as a senior leader. It is never easy when a season comes to an end. We just talked in the locker room about where we started and where we finished has a lot to do with Audrey and her leadership. I want to give her a lot of credit for being a great leader," added Hess.

Against Washington U, Andries led the team in kills with eight and hitting percentage .227 on 22 attacks.  The Bennies, which had 28 kills on 123 attacks, also had five kills from sophomore McKenna Moehrle and junior Mackenzie Knofczynski. St. Ben's, which also had 10 digs from Chaeli Haupert, recorded 41digs and six total blocks along with a service ace from Ingrid Noha.

Game Summary

In the opening set, Washington U hit .250 with 15 kills on 44 attacks and hit .273 to grab a 25-18 decision. The Bennies had 12 kills on 53 attacks along with an ace and six total blocks. Early on, the Bears took a 7-4 lead before the Bennies rebounded, using a kill by Kali Jones for a 9-9 tie after a 5-2 run. The Bears took a 18-12 lead before CSB rallied to within 23-18. But the Bears scored the final two points to grab the set win.

In set two, Washington U took control early, moving from a 5-4 lead into a 9-5 advantage. With a 6-2 run the lead grew to 15-7 before they closed it at 25-11. The Bears hit .257 with 13 kills on 35 attacks and were successful on 10-of-12 sideouts.

In the final set, the Bears, which hit a match-high .333 with 12 kills on 30 attacks, jumped to a 7-3 lead and later pushed the margin to 20-11. The Bennies had 10 kills in 47 attacks in the final set.