Volleyball Emphasizes Homecoming Weekend with Sweep

Audrey Peterson

Box Score

Saint Mary's (MN) SMU 13-11,2-4 MIAC

Saint Benedict CSB 10-9,4-2 MIAC

Saint Mary's (MN) SMU

13-11,2-4 MIAC

Final

Oct. 17, 2026

Saint Benedict CSB

10-9,4-2 MIAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Saint Mary's (MN) SMU	13	18	21	(0)
Saint Benedict CSB	25	25	25	(3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | 10/17/2026

Bennies down Saint Mary’s in straight sets

Next Match:

at St. Olaf

10/23/2026 | 7 p.m.

Next Match

Full Schedule

Oct. 23 (Fri) / 7 p.m.

at St. Olaf

History

Roster

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - Putting an emphasis on homecoming weekend, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team swept past Saint Mary's University Saturday night, Oct. 17. The Bennies put on a show for a crowded Claire Lynch Hall, which was also celebrating Alumnae Day, making quick work of the Cardinals behind set scores of 25-13, 25-18, 25-21. With the win, CSB improves to 10-9 overall and 4-2 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play, while SMU stumbles to 13-11 (2-4 MIAC).

Saint Ben's dominated the match statistically, securing advantages in kills (46-31), while hitting a scorching .394 to the Cardinals' .141, assists (40-29) and blocks (6-1), while each team logged 36 digs. Saint Mary's narrowly snagged a 4-3 lead in aces.

Senior Kali Jones (Annandale, Minn./Annandale) put on a display for the home crowd, finishing with 15 kills on a stellar .542 attack percentage, committing just two errors across 24 swings. Senior Kate Stadum (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) closely followed with 13 kills, one shy of her career-best, on a .333 night. Senior Brooke Andries (Marshall, Minn./Marshall) and sophomore Karley Dunham (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) tallied six kills apiece.

Leading the scorching offense for the Bennies, junior Izzy Torve (Loretto, Minn./Orono) and sophomore Ginny Schuler (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) orchestrated the dominant attack. Schuler paced the team with 19 assists, while Torve closely trailed with 14 helpers.

Defensively, Jones led the way with 13 digs, adding another double-double performance to her sensational senior campaign. Sophomore Brooke Siegle (Norwood Young America, Minn./Waconia) was second with six, followed by four each from Torve and Schuler. Dunham led the powerful net defense with four blocks, while Stadum added three. Jones and sophomore Sydney Elliott (Saint Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) each chipped in a pair of rejections.

Saint Benedict quickly took control of the opening set, snagging 10 of the first 14 points. Jones followed an SMU miscue with back-to-back kills to go ahead, 6-2. Andries sent one to the back corner to extend the lead to five shortly after, and another error by the visitors called for a Saint Mary's timeout, 10-4.

Schuler connected with Stadum to spark a 7-1 run. The senior sandwiched another kill to her line, coming in between blocks from her and Dunham, pushing the gap to double-digits, 16-6. Staying with the hot hand, Stadum added two more kills across the following three points to close out the run with an 11-point lead, 18-7.

CSB coasted the rest of the way, as Andries tooled the block to cue set point, and Stadum polished off her powerful opening set with a kill, 25-13.

All tied at 12 in the second set, a Stadum kill ignited a 9-2 run for the Bennies. The Brainerd, Minn. native added another before acing the Cardinals before the visiting team could register a sideout. Featuring a few SMU miscues, Jones downed a ball sent over early for a kill before smashing down a set from Schuler to make it 21-14. Elliott uncorked on a shot to put the set within reach, 22-15, but Saint Mary's staged a small comeback to keep the set alive. Schuler fed Stadum for a kill to push set point, and Stadum and Dunham followed with a block that erupted the home crowd to bring in the second set, 25-18.

Saint Benedict jumped ahead early in the third, as a block from Elliott and Jones pushed the Bennies' lead to four, 9-5. After a service error, CSB quickly got the ball back with a Jones kill before an SMU error made it 11-6 in favor of the home team. Saint Mary's regrouped, though, trimming the deficit to two, 11-9, with three straight points.

The Bennies remained in front for the remainder of the set, but a 5-1 run by the Cardinals kept it a close contest, as the visitors made it a one-point difference late, 22-21. An attack went long for Saint Mary's, granting Saint Ben's a much-needed sideout. Torve went back to the line to serve, dropping in an ace to bring up match point. Once again, a great serve by Torve kept the Cardinals off-guard, as the visitors mishandled the ball, sending it over early to the Bennies. Dunham wasted no time on making Saint Mary's pay for the mistake, smashing one home to ignite an energetic Homecoming crowd en route to securing the sweep, 25-21.

Saint Ben's returns to the road, as the Bennies head to St. Olaf College for a 7 p.m. contest Friday, Oct. 23. CSB will finish off the weekend at home, hosting Augsburg University Saturday, Oct. 24, for a 5 p.m. first serve.

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