ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Catherine University volleyball team fell to the College of Saint Benedict Bennies on Saturday evening in the MIAC Volleyball Championship match 3-0. St. Kate's overall record sits at 20-9 as they finish the 2024 MIAC Playoff Runners-up.
Junior
Madison Fagan led the way for St. Kate's with eleven kills hitting .556 with three blocks.
Brenna Essig finished with 19 digs and two assists, while
Lucia Neuman had 12 assists, three digs and two kills.
Lexie Petrick added 13 digs, five kills and one assist and
Liz Rosen delivered ten digs, five kills and one block.
The first set included six tied scores plus four lead changes as the Wildcats held the lead for most of the set. The Bennies went on a 6-0 run to close the first set 25-22. In set two, the Wildcats trailed the entire set as Saint Benedict capitalized on back to back runs taking a 9-2 lead. St. Kate's inched back to get within four points at 18-4 and again at 20-16 but the Bennies went on to claim set two 25-16.
Saint Ben's claimed the championship title downing St. Kate's in set three with a score of 25-14. A glimpse of hope started set three for St. Kate's as they traded points right away. The set remained within reach until the Bennies took a six point lead at 16-10 and getting to 20-12 shortly after. St. Kate's went on to score just two more points in the match concluding the program's first time appearance in the MIAC Championship Match.
Saint Benedict received the MIAC Playoff championship plaque and the conference's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament. The 2024 NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament will consist of 64 teams - 43 automatic qualifiers and 21 at-large berths. Gustavus led all MIAC teams in the
NCAA Power Index (NPI) heading into Saturday at No. 50. St. Catherine was next at No. 61. The NCAA will announce the national tournament field during its
annual selection show on NCAA.com at noon on Monday, November 18. The nine-player MIAC All-Playoff Team will be selected by playoff-participating coaches and announced on Monday.
