Northfield, Minn. – Sarah Kunelius (Fy./Eagan, Minn.) tallied 10 kills but ninth-ranked Carleton College hit only .124 and fell, 3-0, to 19th-ranked College of St. Benedict in the MIAC Playoff semifinals.
Individual game scores were 30-25, 30-24, 30-20 for the Blazers (22-5), who won for the 15th consecutive time. St. Benedict was paced by Shantelle Needham’s 19 kills and 15 digs and Emily Stessman’s 13 kills and 14 digs.
The Blazers advance to face the University of St. Thomas on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. in St. Paul. The Tommies were 3-0 victors over fifth-seeded St. Olaf College. Carleton lost a home match for only the third time since 2003, a span of 25 matches.
Seniors Jessica Black (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek) and Alivia Bryan (Eugene, Ore./Winston Churchill) added seven kills each for Carleton, as did juniors Vanessa Brown (Lakeville, Minn.) and Danielle Hargreaves (Brandon, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate). Black and Hargreaves had 15 and 14 digs, respectively, while Hargreaves added a match-best three aces.
Jamie Lykken (Sr./Edina, Minn.) paced Carleton with 21 digs and Laura Zwach had 24 for the Blazers. St. Benedict outhit the Knights, .196 to .124. Beth Schiller paced the Blazers with 42 assists and Heather La Chapelle (So./Eagan, Minn.) led the Knights with 24 assists.
The Knights, who had a seven-match losing streak ended and failed to make it to the conference title game for the first time since 2002, never was on their game. The Blazers took early leads in all three games and never allowed the Knights to close the gap. Carleton had but 39 kills in the match and had no answer for the Blazers' offense, as the visitors tallied 51 kills for a 17.0 kills per game average, 4.5 kills per game more than Carleton opponents had been averaging on the season.
Carleton must now await the NCAA Division III Volleyball Committee’s announcement of the 62-team field last on Sunday night. The Blazers are virtually assured of a spot in the national tournament field, as the MIAC seems poised to take at least two spots in the field. The winner of Saturday night’s title tilt receives the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, with the regional slated to be hosted by St. Thomas. Last season, Carleton was denied a bid to the NCAA Championships field after falling in the conference tournament finals, but the field has expanded by more than 10 teams this season.
