Volleyball 10/19/05 -- St. Benedict 3, Augsburg 0 (30-24, 30-16, 30-22)

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (10/19/05) -- Shantelle Needham (Sr., Graceville, Minn./CGB HS) recorded her sixth straight double-double, with 11 kills and 17 digs, and Teri Knapper (Jr., Renville, Minn./Renville County West HS) had 14 kills, leading the College of St. Benedict to a three-game sweep of host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball match Wednesday evening at Si Melby Hall.

The Blazers won the match by scores of 30-24, 30-16, 30-22 to improve to 17-4 overall, 7-2 in MIAC play, winning their 10th match in a row. Augsburg drops to 5-21 overall, 1-7 in MIAC play.

St. Benedict hit .228 as a team, with 46 kills and just 17 errors in 127 attempts. St. Benedict also converted nine team blocks in the game and took advantage of a .000 hitting match for the Auggies (29 kills, 29 errors in 133 attempts).

Knapper hit .522, with just two errors in 23 attempts to go with her 14 kills, while Needham hit .375, with just two errors in 24 attempts to go with her 11 kills.

Beth Schiller (Sr., Rochert, Minn./Detroit Lakes HS) had 40 assists, four aces and seven digs, while Emily Stessman (So., Omaha, Neb./Marian HS) had nine kills, six digs and three blocks (one solo). Ashley Pinckney (Sr., Ely, Minn.) had eight kills, four aces and four digs, Nicole Hjelmgren (Fr., Maplewood, Minn./North St. Paul HS) had seven blocks, and Laura Zwach (Jr., Walnut Grove, Minn./Tracy Area HS) had 19 digs.

Augsburg was paced by Sarah Bradley (So., International Falls, Minn.), who had nine kills and six digs. Linnea Evans * (Sr., Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) had eight kills, six assists and 10 digs, and Dani Boner (Fr., Omaha, Neb./Mercy HS) had 13 digs and two blocks (one solo). Haley Bower (So., Brainerd, Minn.) had 12 digs, and Alexis Johnson (Sr., Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul HS) had 16 assists and six digs.

A 7-3 run midway through the first game gave the Blazers a lead they would not relinquish, en route to the 30-24 win. St. Benedict took a 17-9 advantage in the second game and converted 18 kills to just six for Augsburg. The third game saw a late rally, as the Blazers pulled away from an 18-17 advantage with a 7-2 scoring run to claim the victory.

Augsburg hosts Macalester in MIAC action on Friday (10/21) at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall, while St. Benedict hosts St. Olaf on Saturday (10/22) at 12 p.m.