ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - After a long stretch on the road, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team finally returns home, as the Bennies (6-3) host University of Wisconsin-Stout Wednesday night, Sept. 16. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Claire Lynch Hall and will serve as Employee Appreciation Night. CSB and SJU employees will be given a coupon for a free popcorn and drink at the concession stands and have a chance to enter a raffle for prizes. 

 

Saint Benedict returns home after posting a 3-1 record at the Transy Invite Friday-Saturday, Sept. 11-12. Most recently, CSB downed tournament host Transylvania University in straight sets Saturday night, Sept. 12. Seniors Kali Jones (Annandale, Minn./Annandale) and Kate Stadum (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) led the offense with 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Stadum was dominant, as her 12 kills came on 21 swings with no attack errors, good for a .571 attack percentage. She also led the Bennies from the service line with four aces. Sophomore Ginny Schuler (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) tallied a team-high 23 assists. Sophomore Karley Dunham (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) highlighted a dominant defensive effort with a career-high eight blocks. Jones notched a team-best 14 digs to add another double-double performance to her stacked career. 

 

Jones, the reigning Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Offensive Player of the Week, leads the team with 125 kills, the 10th-most in Division III this season. Jones holds an average of 3.38 per set on a .218 attack percentage. Stadum is second with 61 kills, followed by fellow senior Brooke Andries (Marshall, Minn./Marshall) and Dunham with 58 kills each. Jones also leads the way with 18 aces, closely followed by Stadum's 17. Senior Libby Burns (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) rounds out the top three with 12 aces. 

 

Junior Izzy Torve (Loretto, Minn./Orono) tops the team with 174 assists, an average of 4.70 per set. Schuler is second with 165 assists, averaging 4.46 per set. Together, the duo are the main masterminds behind an offense that ranks 10th in assists (389) and 11th in kills (422) and are hitting .223 as a squad.  

 

On the defensive end, Jones' 121 digs are the most by a Bennie, as the Annandale, Minn. native is averaging 3.27 per set. Sophomore Brooke Siegle (Norwood Young America, Minn./Waconia) follows with 90, an average of 2.57 per set. First-year Kaelyn Wittwer (Delano, Minn./Delano) rounds out the top three with 70 digs. Dunham has carried the net defense, as her 34 blocks lead the team and rank 11th nationally. Sophomore Sydney Elliott (Saint Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) is second with 17 stuffs, closely followed by Andries with 15.  

 

CSB and UW-Stout (4-3) will meet for the 17th time since 1993, with the Bennies owning an 11-5 advantage in the series. The Blue Devils took the most recent meeting in four sets Sept. 17, 2022, snapping Saint Benedict's seven-game win streak in the series. Emma Guest led the Bennies offense with 18 kills on a .390 showing, while Audrey Spolidoro orchestrated the attack with 42 assists. Chaeli Haupert topped the team with three aces. Mackenzie McDonald totaled a team-high 24 digs. The Blue Devils come to town off a four-set loss to Gustavus Adolphus College Saturday, Sept. 12.  

 

The match will be live streamed, featuring Mike Spolidoro and Saint John's first-year Zach Nelson on the broadcast, which can be found here. Live stats can be accessed by clicking here.