College of Saint Benedict Athletics

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team fell in straight sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-10) in its season opener to University of Northwestern Tuesday night, Sept. 1. The loss drops CSB to 0-1 to open the 2026 campaign, while UNW, which received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll, leaves town 1-0. 

 

Saint Ben's finished the contest with 32 kills and a .102 attack percentage, while Northwestern notched 48 kills on a .360 clip. The Eagles also edged the Bennies in digs (59-45), assists (47-32) and blocks (8-2), while each team tallied two aces. 

 

Senior Kali Jones (Annandale, Minn./Annandale) led the offense with nine kills, narrowly missing out on a double-double performance behind 10 digs. Senior Kate Stadum (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) chipped in eight kills, followed by six apiece from senior Brooke Andries (Marshall, Minn./Marshall) and sophomore Karley Dunham (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd). Sophomore Ginny Schuler (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) and junior Izzy Torve (Loretto, Minn./Orono) orchestrated the offense with 17 and 10 assists, respectively. 

 

Defensively, first-year Kaelyn Wittwer (Delano, Minn./Delano) put on a show in her collegiate debut, as she led the team with 17 digs. Jones followed with 10, while first-year Karlie Wollum (Canby, Minn./Canby) added six in her first career contest. 

 

Saint Benedict took an early lead in the opening set, as kills from Stadum and Andries made it 2-1 in favor of the home team. Following a 5-1 run by the Eagles, first-year Addison Barbo (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) downed a dish from Torve for her first career kill to bring the deficit to 6-4. 

 

Trailing 20-10 in the first set, the Bennies strung together five points over the next six rallies to chip away at the gap. Torve set Dunham for a kill to kick off the stretch, and an attack error followed an Eagles sideout to shift a bit of momentum back towards the Bennies. A Wittwer pancake led to a kill from Jones, who added one more on the following play to force Northwestern to call timeout as the visitor's lead had been trimmed to 21-14. The break did not stop CSB, as Andries tipped one perfectly over the block to bring the score to 21-15.  

 

Saint Ben's was unable to get any closer in the set, dropping it 25-18.  

 

Trailing early in the second set, three straight points for the home team brought the Bennies back into the set. Stadum followed up an attack error with an ace, and Torve dished a set to Dunham for a kill on the ensuing point to make it 14-9.  

 

The Eagles remained in control until a 4-1 run by CSB haulted the visiting team. Statdum buried back-to-back kills, coming off assists from Schuler and Burns. After a service error by the Bennies, Schuler fed Andries for a kill, and a UNW attack made it 22-16. 

 

Once again, Saint Ben's could not close the gap further, falling in set two, 25-17. 

 

The Bennies were unable to find a groove in the final set of the night, ultimately dropping set three, 25-10. 

 

Saint Benedict will begin an eight-game stretch away from the friendly confines of Claire Lynch Hall, beginning with a trip to Iowa for the Grinnell/Central Tournament Friday-Saturday, Sept. 4-5. CSB will travel to Grinnell College Friday, Sept. 4, to take on Simpson College at 5 p.m. and Grinnell in the following contest at 7 p.m. Saint Ben's will then head to Central College for a pair of games Saturday, Sept. 5, beginning with Cornell College at 11 a.m. The Bennies will conclude the first leg of the road stretch by facing Central for a 1 p.m. bout.