Box Score

ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern volleyball team may have lost its home-opening battle against 15th-ranked College of Saint Benedict on Wednesday night, but fans in attendance saw a closer-to-healthy Eagles squad that showed a lot of potential in a four set match that nearly lasted two hours. UNW was the first team to take a set from the veteran Blazers in a 25-20, 21-25, 25-15, 25-22 final.

Northwestern held leads in three of the four sets including the first when the Eagles found themselves up 15-9. Things started to go downhill from there though, as the Blazers took the next seven points to claim a 16-15 advantage during Victoria Nass's serving spree. UNW head coach took a timeout with her team owning a diminishing 15-13 buffer and then again when the Eagles trailed 20-17, but the Blazers were on a roll that took them to a 25-20 set victory.

UNW drew even with a strong second set, this time hanging on to a lead at the midway point. Kendra Korporal (Sumner, Iowa /Sumner-Fredericksburg)'s kill broke an 8-8 tie, sparking an Eagles run that put UNW up 15-11. Northwestern's edge stayed at four or more points until UNW hit the 20-point mark. Saint Ben's came within two on an Eagles attacking error, but Northwestern prevailed, winning three of the next four points to take the set 25-21.

The Blazers came back with a vengeance in the third set after winning the first 28 of their season. UNW hung on until 4-4, but then the visitors on the scoreboard raced to 20 points before the Eagles could score 10 as CSB dialed up its offense combined with some miscues on Northwestern's side of the net. The Eagles did put some more points on the board in the third set, but a ten-point differential was as close as it was going to get in a 25-15 third round to put Saint Benedict up 2-1 in the match.

While UNW had some issues to take care of on the scoreboard, the Eagles were clearly still struggling with injuries as Emily Robertson (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) gave Korporal a rest during the back row portion of her rotation. Hallie Mueth (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork), who joined Korporal on the bench last weekend with her own injury, was also limited against Saint Ben's.

The Blazers looked as if they were going to walk out of the building with a quick fourth set victory, but UNW put up a fight, especially towards the end when Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley)'s kill put Northwestern within a point at 23-22 on a comeback from a prior 18-12 deficit. Korporal had back to back kills while Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) was at the service line for five straight points, but a Chelsea Rachel kill combined with a UNW attacking error ended the set 25-22 and the match 3-1 in Saint Ben's' favor.

Northwestern didn't have its greatest hitting numbers of the season at .080, but then again, the Blazers were well below their season average of .277 with a .193 mark on Thursday as each team kept several balls in play that would otherwise fall to the floor with an immediate kill. Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) had a season-high 27 digs in the back row for the Eagles while Miller had her hand on each of the team's six blocks.

The Blazers' defense was equally tough, with the blocking front of Taya Kockelman and Mary Franz putting up a wall on their side of the net as both finished with seven assisted blocks to contribute to Saint Benedict's 12 as a team.

Offensively for Northwestern, Miller and Faith Vander Galien (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) each had 10 kills to lead UNW, while Rachel had 15 for CSB, followed closely by Lexi Alm's 14. Both teams' setters, who were each honored with their respective conferences' setter of the week award this week, eclipsed 40 assists as the Eagles' Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) had 41 and Kockelman 48 for the Blazers.

With its second loss to the Blazers this season, Northwestern slips to 1-8 overall while Saint Ben's remains undefeated at 10-0 in 2013. The Eagles will try to rest up for yet another four-match tournament this weekend, the third in UNW's last three weeks. Instead of van rides to St. Joseph and Minneapolis, Minn., Northwestern will hop on a bus for a five-plus hour journey to Whitewater, Wis., where the Eagles will face off against the likes of Millikin University, No. 19 Whitewater, and local rival Bethel University. UNW's first test comes on Friday versus Millikin at 5 p.m.