RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (1-4) fell to Simpson College (4-1) in a closely contested match at the Falcon Invite on Friday night, losing 3-1 with set scores of 25-6, 23-25, 23-25, and 20-25. Despite the defeat, CSB saw strong performances from Kali Jones and McKenna Moehrle, each contributing 13 kills, while Audrey Spolidoro recorded her 39th career double-double.

Saint Benedict will return to action on Saturday, facing Minnesota Morris at 9 a.m. and UW-River Falls at 1 p.m. during the invitational.

The Bennies finished the match with a hitting percentage of .245, totaling 54 kills on 143 attacks with 19 errors. Jones, who has now posted double-digit kills in three of the first four games, had 35 attacks and only four errors, hitting .257, and also added nine digs. Moehrle, who has had three straight games with double-digit kills, hit .500 on 20 attempts with just three errors. First-year Emma Flanders contributed 12 kills on 33 attempts for a .242 hitting percentage, while junior Mackenzie Knofczynski added nine kills and four blocks. Junior Chaeli Haupert also played a key role with 11 digs and two service aces.

Spolidoro led the offense with 40 assists and 11 digs for her 39th career double-double. She also contributed four kills on 17 attacks and a service ace, marking her fourth consecutive game with 40 or more set assists, increasing her career total to 2,680—eighth on CSB's all-time list.

CSB dominated the opening set, posting 14 kills on 22 attacks with no errors for a .636 hitting percentage, and won the set 25-6. However, the following sets were tightly contested. In the second set, CSB recorded 14 kills on 35 attacks for a .156 hitting percentage, but Simpson edged out with a .205 hitting percentage and won 25-23. The set featured 15 ties and seven lead changes. The Bennies rallied in the third set from an 18-13 deficit to take a 23-21 lead, but Simpson finished strong with four consecutive points to win the set 25-23. Simpson had 16 kills on 40 attacks for a .250 hitting percentage, while CSB had 14 kills on 41 attacks, hitting .171. In the fourth set, Simpson pulled away from an 8-8 tie with a 9-3 run, leading 17-11 and ultimately securing a 25-20 win. Simpson hit .263 with 13 kills on 38 attacks, while CSB had 12 kills on 35 attacks with five errors for a .200 hitting percentage.