ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica volleyball team fell to 3-6 on Saturday afternoon at the hands of undefeated St. Benedict's. Despite a back and forth contest, the Saints fell in straight sets, 25-17, 25-14 and 25-22 in Claire Lynch Hall.

The first set was a back and forth contest as the Saints quickly jumped out to a 6-2 lead on a pair of kills from Gloria Ohaju (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS). After pushing the score to 8-4, the Blazers tallied 8 unanswered points to take the lead at 12-8. After a pair of CSS points, the Blazers would add another 6 points to push the score to 17-10. The rest of the set would be evenly matched, but the Saints would eventually drop set one 25-17.

Set two began with a 4-4 battle, but the Blazers pushed the lead to 8-4, prompting a CSS timeout. The Saints would rally back to within two at 11-9, but St. Bens went on another eight point rally to take a commanding 19-9 lead. Just as in the first set, the end of the second set was nearly equal, but St. Scholastica was unable to overcome the deficit, dropping set two 25-14.

CSS would not go down without a fight, however, as Kortney Morrin (Grantsburg, Wis./Grantsburg HS (Northern State)) recorded three kills and Kayla Horbacz (Isanti, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) added a pair to aid the Saints in taking a 9-4 lead to begin set three. St. Ben's would rally back again to tie at 10-10, and eventually jumped out to a 14-12 lead. St. Scholastica made a push to tie the set at 16, but would never regain the lead, losing the final set 25-22.

For the Saints, Gloria Ohaju (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS) led the team with 10 kills and a pair of blocks. Erika Birkeland (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake HS) fought through a foot injury to lead CSS with 13 assists and 9 digs. For the Blazers, the dynamic duo of Alexa Rinde and Lexi Alm had 12 and 11 kills, respectively. The Blazers remain a perfect 11-0 on the year.

The Saints (3-6) look to turn things around next weekend as Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) competition begins. CSS will be on the road again as the Saints travel to the Twin Cities to face Northwestern next Friday night and North Central on Saturday evening.