No. 5 St. Thomas (Minn.) 3, Augsburg 1
MINNEAPOLIS -- In a matchup between two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams ranked in the top 25 nationally, St. Thomas bested host Augsburg in four sets (25-15, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21).
Ashley Peper and Colleen Ourada led the Auggies on the offensive attack, recording 15 kills each. Peper finished with a kill-dig double-double, chipping in 11 digs, two service aces, a block and an assist. Ourada also contributed two aces, six digs, two solo blocks and an assist.
The Auggies came out a little flat in the first set and could not overcome poor passing while trailing 12-2. They trailed again early in the second set 10-4, but rallied back and tied the score at 17-17 before the Tommies scored the next five points to take the lead 22-17. Augsburg scored eight of the next nine points to close out the Tommies for the second-set win. The third and fourth sets were similiar to the first, with the Auggies trailing early and rallying back, but the Tommies proved to be too much and cruised to the four-set win.
No. 8 St. Benedict (Minn.) 3, St. Olaf 0
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- Saint Benedict picked up another sweep tonight earning its 20th win of the season.
The Blazers (20-2, 5-2 MIAC) defeated visiting St. Olaf (7-16, 1-6 MIAC) in a swift 3-0 match, jump-starting a run of five consecutive conference matches to close out the regular season.
Saint Benedict hit the court running as they took down the Oles 25-15 in the first set. The Blazers put up some impressive numbers, hitting .414 in the set while holding St. Olaf to a .000 attack percentage. They ran out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back. The Oles were able to get within one at 7-6, but that was as close as it would get, as the Blazers rattled off five consecutive to take a 12-6 lead, and led by at least five the rest of the way.
The Blazers made quick work of St. Olaf in the next two sets with wins of 25-10 and 25-14. They hit their highest percentage of the night in the second, putting up a .469 mark at the net with 18 kills against just three errors.
