ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The Macalester College volleyball team faced off against the College of Saint Benedict Friday on night at Claire Lynch Hall on Oct. 2. The Scots came into the game 7-7 on the season, including a 2-0 mark in conference play, while the Bennies went into 6-7, 0-2 MIAC. The Scots despite a hard-fought contest, dropped the game going 11-25, 25-20, 12-25 and 15-18 in a four-set loss.
After dropping the first set, 25-11, Macalester responded in the second set by turning a 7-5 deficit into an 11-7 lead. Saint Benedict came within one point five times, but each time the Scots answered with a point. With the score 20-19, a service ace by first year outside hitter
Channing Smith (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) and a kill from junior outside hitter
Adonia Anene (North Hollywood, Calif./The Buckley School) helped to bring Macalester one point away from clinching the set. After the Bennies registered a kill, an attack error gave the Scots a 25-20 win. Smith notched four kills in the set, while junior outside hitter
Ella Cohen-Richie (Chicago, Ill./Univ. of Chicago Laboratory Schools) added three kills.
A slow start hampered Macalester in the third set, as Saint Benedict jumped out to a 14-2 lead. The Scots tallied the next seven points, including kills from Cohen-Richie and Anene and two aces by first year setter
Lydia Koshuta (Appleton, Wis./Appleton). But the Bennies pushed their lead back up to as many as 13 before closing out the 25-12 win. Anene had three kills in the set to lead Macalester.
In the fourth set, Macalester started trading blow-for-blow early with a 10-10 early tie, with kills from Smith, Anene and first year middle blocker
Kyle Speta (San Francisco, Calif./Urban School of San Francisco. Mac tried to keep it close, but after the Bennies made it 20-17, despite kills from sophomore middle blocker
Danielle Oji (Katy, Texas/Obra D. Tompkins), Smith and Speta, the Bennies closed it out 25-18 after going on a 15-8 run to close out the set.
Smith and Anene led the Scots with 9 kills each, followed by Speta with 9. Senior setter
Hannah Morrow (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook) led the team with 15 assists, followed by Koshuta with 12. Morrow also led the team in digs with 14, followed by Koshuta with 13.
Next for Macalester (7-8) is St. Catherine University (2-11) on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at home in another MIAC matchup. The first serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.
Story by Matt McLagan & Sam Bloom
