CHICAGO, Ill. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team kicked off the 2021 season with a pair of matches against nationally recognized opponents Friday evening at the University of Chicago Tournament in Chicago, Ill.
The Bennies started the day with a tight match against Aurora - which is receiving votes in the AVCA preseason poll – and took on No. 9 Chicago. CSB lost both matches 3-0, although the team hung tight in both matches. CSB stayed within a handful of points against Aurora before falling 25-22, 26-24 and 25-18, and then nearly pushed Chicago to extra points in the first set before falling 25-23, 25-15 and 25-17.
Aurora (1-1) took an early lead in the first set before CSB came back to tie the score at 14-14, and the Bennies later tied the match at 20-20 before the Spartans used a late push to come away with the win. Saint Benedict led 24-20 in the second set, but Aurora scored six straight points to take a 2-0 lead, and then won the third set to finish the sweep.
First year
Sophie Kobienia recorded a team-best 12 kills in her collegiate debut and junior
Gabby Heying added 11. The Bennies finished with 45 total kills and hit .159 as a team. Sophomore transfer
McKenzie Galvin added eight kills. Sophomore setter
Payton Marker recorded 23 assists in her first start and first year
Audrey Spolidoro added 15 assists. Senior libero
Mary Wenisch paced the defense with 15 digs and Galvin added 13.
In the team's second match of the day, host-school Chicago led throughout the first set, but a kill from Heying, a service ace from
Madelyn Gregory and several Chicago attack errors got the Bennies within 22-20. Two more kills from Heying made it 24-23 late, but a Chicago kill ended the set, and the Maroons were able to win the next two sets to complete the sweep.
Heying added 14 kills to her daily stat line for CSB, which hit just .096 as a team. Galvin added six kills. Marker had 12 assists and Wenisch had a team-high 18 digs.
CSB returns to action Saturday at noon when it takes on seventh-ranked Hope to wrap up the tournament.
