CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team's incredible postseason run came to an end in the NCAA Quarterfinals Thursday evening.
Up against an undefeated Johns Hopkins squad, CSB hung strong with the Blue Jays in the first set, but couldn't match their firepower on offense. The Bennies' season ended with a 3-0 loss after falling 25-22, 25-17 and 25-14.
Saint Benedict ends the year 26-6 overall - the fewest losses in a season for the program since 2013. The team's Elite 8 appearance marked its first since 2008 and just the third in school history after winning the St. Paul Regional on Nov. 16.
Thursday's match marked the final match for seniors
Emily Marso and
Haley LaValle. The duo was part of three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament – including back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances – and three runner-up MIAC finishes. Marso and LaValle finish their CSB volleyball careers with an 83-36 overall record.
The first set was the closest Thursday night as CSB took a 4-3 lead early thanks to kills from
Hunter Weiss,
Emily Marso and
Maurissa Isaacs. JHU (33-0) used a short run to go up 13-7, but Marso had a kill and
Madison Weiss and
Katie Koch had blocks to get CSB right back in it at 13-11. After a second CSB timeout, the Bennies went on a 6-1 run that included back-to-back service aces from
Bridget McDonald to tie the set at 19-19, but the Blue Jays answered with five straight points to take a 24-19 lead.
Gabby Heying had a kill and
Morgan Holthaus had a service ace, but JHU held on to win 25-22.
The second and third sets were all the Blue Jays. Saint Benedict kept Set 2 close to start, but Johns Hopkins went on a 9-1 run to go up 13-5. Koch and Marso had kills and Marso and Heying got a block to get CSB within 13-9, and later a block by Hunter and Madison made it 17-14, but JHU went on an 8-3 run to end the set and pick up the win. The Blue Jays jumped to a 5-1 lead in the final set, and took a 14-7 lead after a 7-1 run. An 8-1 run made it 23-12, and after another service ace from Holthaus, Johns Hopkins ended the set and the match.
Hunter and Marso both had six kills to lead CSB, which hit just .062 as a team. Madison had five block assists and Hunter finished with four. Koach had 18 assists and
Mary Wenisch led the team with 13 digs. LaValle added 12 digs.
Simone Bliss led all hitters with 16 kills for JHU – which hit .264. Natalie Aston had 29 assists and Nicole Hada and Louisa Kishton each had 11 digs.
CSB loses a pair of seniors, but brings plenty of talent from 2019 into the 2020 season. All-Americans Hunter and Madison return next year, along with Koch, Wenisch and McDonald. Heying and
Maurissa Isaacs are also back after solid first years on the outside.
