ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – With just two games  remaining in the regular season, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (16-6, 7-2 MIAC) returns home to host Bethel University (13-9, 6-3 MIAC) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Claire Lynch Hall.

The matchup will serve as part of All Cancer Awareness Night, an initiative sponsored by the CSB Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). This fall, SAAC has led a campus-wide cancer awareness campaign encouraging Bennie student-athletes, their families, and all CSB/SJU faculty, staff, and fans to show their support by purchasing and wearing specially designed cancer awareness T-shirts. Proceeds from shirt sales — available at Wednesday's match — will benefit the CentraCare-Coborn Cancer Center in St. Cloud.

Bennies and Bethel Head coach Nicole Hess, now in her 13th season at the helm, has guided Saint Benedict to 288 career wins (352 overall) and has her team sitting third in the MIAC standings heading into the final week of the regular season. St. Benedict will wrap up regular-season play on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Carleton before beginning the MIAC Playoffs on Nov. 11. Saint Benedict enters Wednesday's contest following a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 win over Concordia on Senior Night (Nov. 1). That victory came after back-to-back 3-1 losses to (RV) Northwestern (Oct. 29) and MIAC leader (RV) St. Olaf (Oct. 25). In recent play, CSB has found consistency, winning eight of its last 11 matches.

By the numbers - CSB

• Kali Jones, junior outside hitter, continues to be one of the MIAC's most dynamic players. She ranks 7th in kills (2.90/set), 5th in points (3.52/set), 8th in digs (3.75/set), and 7th in aces (0.43/set). Jones has recorded 13 double-digit kill performances and owns 34 career double-doubles. Her standout match came against Saint Mary's, where she tallied 17 kills and 17 digs while hitting a season-best .483 with four aces. She enters the week with 791 career kills and 852 digs, closing in on the 800-kill milestone.
• Chaeli Haupert, senior libero, surpassed 1,000 career digs earlier this season and now sits at 1,222. She's posted double-digit digs in 18 matches, including a season-high 23, and ranks 5th in the MIAC with 4.16 digs per set (345 total).
• Izzy Torve, sophomore setter, ranks 6th in service aces (0.43/set) and 10th in assists (5.24/set). She's tallied five double-doubles, highlighted by a career-best 34 assists vs. Cornell.
• Mackenzie Knofczynski, senior middle, continues to dominate at the net, leading the MIAC with 1.04 blocks per set (86 total). She has surpassed 800 career kills and owns 334 career blocks.
• McKenna Moehrle, senior, has contributed 80 kills this season and now totals 374 career kills with 48 blocks in 2025 and 120 overall.

Scouting the Royals
Under longtime head coach Gretchen Hunt (25th season), Bethel enters the contest 13-9 overall and 6-3 in the MIAC, sitting just one game behind CSB in the standings. The Royals rank 2nd in the conference in hitting percentage (.209) and 3rd in both kills (12.49/set) and assists (11.33/set).

• Peyton Howie leads the MIAC in kills with 279 (3.53/set) and ranks 2nd in hitting percentage (.365). She also tops the team in blocks (63, 0.80/set) and points (4.28/set).
• Sophia Rubio leads the MIAC in assists with 812 (10.28/set) and adds 30 aces (0.28/set).
• Hannah Penke provides additional offensive power with 222 kills (2.85/set).

Series History
Saint Benedict holds the edge in the all-time series, leading 27-16 since 1993. The Bennies are 14-3 at home and 11-11 on the road against the Royals. The two teams last met on Oct. 12, 2024, when Bethel claimed a 3-1 victory.