ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - Team-building activities are a big part of the preseason for the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team each August.
That includes bonding exercises like one in which players choose an animal they feel best fits each of their teammates.
Senior outside hitter Brooke Andries was a shark - a choice the Marshall High School graduate admits she found a tad puzzling initially.
"My first thought was they must think I'm so mean," said Andries with a laugh. "Once people get to know me off the court, they see I'm a lot more fun and goofy than they may think.
"But if you just see me on the court, I can be pretty intense and determined. So the more I think about it, I guess it fits."
That intensity has made Andries one of CSB's top offensive contributors the past three seasons - especially when it's mattered most.
She finished fourth on the team with 182 kills a year ago. That included 20 in her team's three victories en route to a second-straight MIAC playoff title. In 2024, she finished with 154 kills, including 21 in three conference playoff matchups.
Those performances earned her two-straight spots on the MIAC all-playoff team.
"She's so competitive and I love that about her," said CSB head coach Nicole Hess, who away from the court regularly texts with Andries about books the two are reading.
"She does such a good job setting the tone for our team. Brooke is someone you know is always going to give you everything she has. She's never not going to show up, and when she plays at the level she's capable of, it rubs off on everyone around her."
Andries was an all-state selection as a senior at Marshall and her teams captured Class 3A state titles in both 2021 and '22. She immediately broke into the Bennies' starting lineup after arriving on campus in the fall of 2023, recording 189 kills her first season.
"She was there to help me whenever I needed it - on or off the court," Andries said of her sister, a middle blocker who recorded 159 kills that season. "I was always hanging out at her apartment and she showed me the ropes. It was special because, while we played together a lot in the backyard growing up, the only chance we had to be on the same team in high school came in basketball when I was a freshman and she was a senior.
"So to get the chance to be her teammate here, and see how seriously she took her role as a leader that season, was really helpful. She set an example I've tried to emulate since then."
Indeed, Andries has become a surrogate big sister to her younger teammates – an especially crucial role this season on a roster that includes five seniors and 14 first-year players.
"I've tried really hard to become more of a team leader and someone my teammates can come to if they need anything or have any questions," she said. "But I also think I've been able to continue improving as a player. I've gotten not just better, but smarter. I have a higher volleyball IQ than I did my first season. That comes with experience. The game has slowed down a lot more and I've gotten better at seeing what the other team is doing and what we can do better as well.
"I now have the confidence to go to a teammate, or even to Nicole or (assistant coach) Amanda (Anderson) and suggest things based on how I see the match going."
But Andries hasn't just emerged as a leader on the court, she's become one in the classroom as well. The finance major studied abroad in London during the most recent spring semester and began serving as a teaching assistant last fall.
She also traveled to Italy at the end of May as part of an international trip the volleyball team takes every three years.
"This whole past year has been a real turning point for me," she said. "All the experiences I've had have helped make me more confident in my skills as a leader. I trust myself more.
"But I've always liked being able to take people under my wing and help them learn from my experiences. As a TA, I work a lot with younger students and help them with any questions they have. It is pretty similar to my role on the volleyball team so I think a lot of those skills do translate."
It took Andries a while to settle on finance. She entered college expecting to major in nursing, then switched to exercise science and to biology. But she said an introduction accounting course she took with professor Warren 'Boz' Bostrom as a sophomore helped her determine where she really wanted to be.
"He instilled so much confidence into all his students," Andries said of the beloved Bostrom, who passed away at only age 52 last fall after battling illness. "And he was such a huge role model for me. I ended up in finance and not accounting. But he was the one who convinced me this was something I could be good at and have a future in. I love everyone in this department so much."
Like many in the CSB and SJU community, Andries was hit hard by Bostrom's death.
"He was one of those people who supported you in whatever your endeavor was," she said. "He really cared about his students. That's why he was always going to concerts, art shows and sporting events. I remember being so excited when he'd come to one of my games. He became such an important part of my growth as a person. Losing him was tough on all of us, but we're trying to follow his example and carry on his legacy.
"I still think about him before games. He inspires me to go out and play the best I can."
Andries had an internship with Geneva Capital (an equipment financing group) in Alexandria this past summer.
"That got me really interested in looking at the equipment financing side of things after I graduate (in May)," she said. "I had a great time. It was really fun to spend the summer in such a beautiful area.
"I actually got into sand volleyball. I played in a rec league, which was a fun way to get touches and keep playing a game I love."
But now it's back to college volleyball. Andries and the Bennies open the 2026 season with a nonconference matchup against Northwestern (Minnesota) at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 at Claire Lynch Hall.
"This is my last season and I want to be able to look back and be proud of the way I handled my role on this team," Andries said. "Wins and losses are important, and obviously we'd like to get back to the NCAA tournament (for the third season in a row). But the biggest thing I'm going to ask myself when it's all over is 'Did I do all I could to help my teammates be successful?'
"If I can answer yes to that question, then I'll leave here with no regrets."
