ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Hamline Piper volleyball team (6-6, 0-3 MIAC) opened their home schedule against St. Benedict (11-4, 3-0 MIAC) on Friday night, and fell just short as the Bennies took the match in four sets (13-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-16).
 
The Bennies hit a solid .301 in the match and had three players in double figures in kills, as their offense kept the Pipers busy the whole night. HU responded though, with the freshman duo of Erin Tadych and Gabby Robinson combining for 23 digs.
 
The Piper offense was held to a more modest .148 hitting percentage, but were led by consistent efforts from junior Morgen Coleman and sophomore Madison Hurrle. Coleman finished with a team-best 12 kills with a .219 hitting percentage and Hurrle was right behind her with nine kills, hitting .261. Freshman Sydney Larson also racked up 10 kills on the night, which was the third time this season that she has ended in double figures in this category.
 
Sophomore Megan Rubbelke had 40 assists throughout the four sets, while also picking up six kills of her own, with an impressive .455 hitting percentage in the process.
 
St. Ben's took the first set 25-13, using a six-point run to pull away late in the game. Hamline led early in the second set, but the Bennie's used another six-point run to take the lead and didn't look back from there, taking set two 25-20.
 
The third set was a tight, back-and-forth affair, as it was tied at 19 late in the set. The Pipers then rattled off the next four points to give them a 23-19 lead, forcing St. Ben's to call a timeout. Kills from Hurrle and Larson gave the Pipers the third set win, forcing a fourth set. In set four, the Bennies used a couple early runs to get ahead and went on to win 25-16.
 
The Pipers are back in action on Tuesday, September 25^th when they take on non-conference opponent Wisconsin-Stout at 7 p.m. in Menominee, Wisconsin. The team then returns to conference play for their following three games, taking on Bethel, Augsburg, and Concordia.