ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team will begin Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with two matches over two days Friday-Saturday, Sept. 25-26. The Bennies (6-5) will host Gustavus Adolphus College Friday night, Sept. 25, for a 7 p.m. contest before heading to Hamline University Saturday, Sept. 26 for a 4 p.m. bout. 

 

Saint Ben's looks to get back in the win column after a three-set loss at No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Friday night, Sept. 18. Senior Kali Jones (Annandale, Minn./Annandale) led the offense with 13 kills on a strong .306 attack percentage. Sophomore Ginny Schuler (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) topped the team with 12 assists and 10 digs, notching her second double-double of the season. Sophomore Sydney Elliott (Saint Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) tallied a team-best two blocks. 

 

Jones leads the team in kills with 152, an average of 3.45 per set. Senior Kate Stadum is second on the team with 80 kills, an average of 2.05. Both seniors are hitting north of .200 on the season. Sophomore Karley Dunham (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) rounds out the top three with 70 kills on a .268 clip. Jones needs 13 kills to eclipse the 1000 career kills mark. The milestone would put her into an elite category in program history, as she would become the eighth Bennie to record 1000 career kills and digs, joining Mary Kuklock (1986-89), Amy Hagen (1987-90), Robin Ruschmeier (1995-98), Malia Evjen (1996-99), Emma Jaynes (2006-09), Chelsie Sobieck (2008-11) and Lexi Alm (2010-13).  

 

Junior Izzy Torve (Loretto, Minn./Orono) and Schuler have orchestrated the majority of the attack all season. Torve leads the way with 204 assists, an average of 4.64 per set, closely followed by Schuler's 203, averaging 4.61 per set. Jones tops the team in aces with 18, while Stadum is second with 17 and senior Libby Burns (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) sits third with 13. 

 

On the defensive end, Jones leads the team with 144 digs, an average of 3.27 per set. Sophomore Brooke Siegle (Norwood Young America, Minn./Waconia) ranks second on the squad with 103 digs, averaging 2.51 per set, followed by first-year Kaelyn Wittwer (Delano, Minn./Delano) with 81. Dunham has totaled a team-best 39 blocks to lead the net defense. Elliott's 21 rejections sits second, while Jones and fellow senior Brooke Andries (Marshall, Minn./Marshall) are tied for third with 15 blocks apiece.  

 

CSB and Gustavus Adolphus (7-4) will meet for the 69th time dating back to 1975. GAC hold a slim 36-32 edge in the series, but the Bennies took the most recent meeting Nov. 13, 2025, defeating the Golden Gusties in five sets to advance to the MIAC Playoff Championship. Andries led the offense with 10 kills, while Torve tallied a team-best 21 assists. Mackenzie Knofczynski paced the offense with three aces. Jones registered a team-leading 23 digs and McKenna Moehrle was dominant at the net, finishing with seven blocks. Gustavus Adolphus comes to town off a four-set loss to Lakeland University Saturday, Sept. 19.  

 

Saturday's road contest at Hamline (2-9) will be the 45th meeting between the two squads, with the Bennies commanding a 39-5 advantage since the inaugural meeting in 1989. Saint Ben's has won the last four battles, including a 3-1 win Sept. 27, 2025. Jones led the team with 15 kills and four aces, while tying for the team-lead in digs alongside Chaeli Haupert, as each tallied 20. Torve finished with a team-best 21 assists. Knofczynski posted a team-high four blocks in the win. Hamline enters off a five-set loss to Wisconsin Lutheran College Saturday, Sept. 19.

 

Links for both matches, including live streams and live stats, can be found here.