Blazers volleyball team advances to national tournament

For the second consecutive year, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team has advanced to the NCAA Division III national tournament.

The Blazers, 26-6 overall and ranked No. 19 nationally, face Simpson College (20-14 overall) of Iowa at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13 at Schoenecker Arena at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul. It is the first of four regional quarterfinal matches at St. Thomas.

The Blazers are meeting a team they have already beaten twice this season by identical 3-0 scores. On Sept. 20, CSB defeated the Storm at the Simpson Invitational; on Oct. 10, CSB beat Simpson at the IIAC-MIAC Border Battle Tournament at St. Thomas.

If the Blazers win their first match, they would face the winner of the match between No. 18 Gustavus Adolphus College (26-4) and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (23-11) at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14 at St. Thomas. The championship match is at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 at St. Thomas.

The opposite bracket includes host and No. 6-ranked St. Thomas (28-2), Wisconsin-LaCrosse (27-11), No. 17 Concordia-Moorhead (20-5) and Loras College (32-4).

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 students per day.

The Blazers, Gustavus and Concordia each received one of 19 Pool C berths to qualify for the 61-team national tournament. St. Thomas won the MIAC post-season tournament to receive the league’s automatic playoff berth.

Saint Benedict is making its 11^th trip to the NCAA Division III tournament. Last year, the Blazers lost to Bethel University in the first round of the regional tournament.