College of Saint Benedict Athletics

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - Needing just 90 minutes to take care of business, the College of Saint Benedict Volleyball team swept The College of St. Scholastica Friday night, Oct. 9, behind set scores of 25-22, 26-24, 25-21. With the win, the Bennies improve to 8-9 overall, 2-2 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) action, while CSS stumbles to 4-12 (0-4 MIAC).  

 

St. Ben's finished the night with 46 kills on a .233 showing while limiting the Saints to 41 kills on a .183 clip. CSB also garnered the lead in aces (5-3), assists (43-40), and digs (56-50), while St. Scholastica claimed a 6-5 edge in blocks.  

 

The Bennies offense was powered by double-digit kill efforts from seniors Kali Jones (Annandale, Minn./Annandale) and Kate Stadum (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd). Jones led the team with 14 kills on a .270 showing, while Stadum scorched the Saints with 11 kills on a .333 clip. The Brainerd, Minn. native committed just two attack errors across 27 swings on the night. Sophomore Karley Dunham (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) rounded out the top three with seven kills.  

 

The masterminds behind the offense, junior Izzy Torve (Loretto, Minn./Orono) and sophomore Ginny Schuler (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) tied for the team-lead in assists, as each accumulated 18. Senior Libby Burns (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) led the Bennies from the service line with a pair of aces. 

 

On the defensive end, sophomore Brooke Siegle (Norwood Young America, Minn./Waconia) posted a team-leading 14 digs. Stadum added a career-high 14 digs, notching the first double-double performance of her career. Jones chipped in nine digs. Dunham and first-year Karlie Wollum (Canby, Minn./Canby) paced the net defense, finishing with four and three blocks, respectively. 

 

Ahead by two, the Bennies used three straight points to separate themselves in the opening set. Following a set error, Stadum tooled the block for a kill. Dunham and Wollum came up with a stuff to make it a five point lead, 17-12, as CSS called for a timeout.  

 

The Saints battled to get within three, but back-to-back CSB kills put the Bennies back up by five. Torve found Wollum for a kill followed by Jones downing a dish from first-year Bree Swanson (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) to make it 21-16. CSS kept fighting to stay in the set, but a kill by Stadum locked in the opener in favor of the home team, 25-22. 

 

Saint Ben's jumped ahead early in the second, snagging five of the of the first six points. Stadum and Dunham opened the set with a rejection followed by Dunham smashing one down for a kill. After a sideout, CSB quickly got the ball back with a service error. The Saints could not control a Stadum serve and Jones made them pay as she buried the ball sent over prematurely to make it 4-1. An attack error closed out the early run at 5-1 in favor of the Bennies. 

 

St. Scholastica fought back to knot the set at 11 all, but the home team once against responded with a run, this time using a 6-1 run to go ahead. First-year Addison Barbo (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) sparked the streak with a kill, while Dunham followed a CSS miscue by smashing down a mishandled Torve serve. After a Saints kill, Stadum responded with one of her own before another CSS miscue added to Saint Benedict's lead. Wollum roped a crosscourt kill to the back corner to make it 17-12, forcing St. Scholastica to burn a timeout. 

 

Five straight points by the Saints saw the visitors erase their deficit and push set point, 24-23. Stadum kept the hot hand, as she roped down a set from Schuler to tie it at 24. The Bennies used two straight errors by CSS to steal set two, 26-24. 

 

Trailing 7-3 early in the third, Jones and sophomore Sydney Elliott (Saint Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) notched a rejection that kickstarted a string of four points to erase the gap. Jones continued a run of her own, as she accrued three straight kills to level the score at seven. After punching the first one through the block, impressive digs by Stadum kept the next two points alive. Jones used the defensive efforts to reward the home team, as she buried her next two shots, swinging momentum back to the Bennies, as the Saints called timeout. 

 

Down by two at the midway point, 15-13, Torve connected with Jones for a kill to begin a 5-1 run. After a bad set by the visitors tied the score at 15, Wollum tooled the block to put the Bennies back in front. Unable to handle a serve from first-year Stella Lambaere (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice), Jones put down the ball sent over early to make it a two-point lead for CSB, 17-15. Following a block error by the Bennies, Torve caught the St. Scholastica defense off guard, dropping in a dump set for a kill. Schuler notched an ace on the ensuing point to make it 19-16. 

 

The Saints refused to give up, tying the score at 20 points apiece. Stadum smashed one down to make it 21-20, but once again CSS answered with a kill of its own. It would be the last point for the visitors, as Saint Ben's closed out the match with four straight points. Dunham began the stretch with a kill, dropping one right into an open middle of the court. The sophomore teamed up with Wollum for back-to-back blocks, pushing match point, and polished off her own run with a kill to finish off the Saints, 25-21. 

 

Saint Benedict will hit the road for a bout at St. Catherine University Saturday, Oct. 10. First serve is set for 4 p.m. at Butler Center.