Opposite hitter Sara Atkinson’s 11 kills guided the No. 3-ranked St. Thomas volleyball team to a three-set victory over No. 10-ranked St. Benedict Wednesday at Claire Lynch Hall.
Marking the team’s 14th consecutive win, the Tommies downed the Blazers and pushed their MIAC record to 5-0.
Coach Thanh Pham said tonight’s match is a win in the books, but the Blazers will be ready to play the next time around.
“St. Ben’s will bounce back nicely, and I’m sure we’ll see them again in the playoffs,” Pham said. 
Outside hitter Jill Greenfield’s ace early on in the first set gave the Tommies a 6-1 advantage. Greenfield racked up five digs for St. Thomas during the night.
Taking the reins and leading the team, Atkinson pummeled a kill down the line to put the Tommies in control with a 14-4 lead.
Middle blocker Mackenzie Piechowski pounded a kill down off a jump set from setter Maddie Reese to set the score at 22-10 in the first set.
Outside hitter Nicole Potts put an assist by setter Katie Maher to good use when she tipped the ball to a vacant spot on the court, locking the first set score in at 25-13 in the Tommies’ favor.
For Atkinson, approaching each game with a consistent mentality helps the Tommies pull out a win each time.
“No matter who we’re facing, we’re going to go out there and give it everything we have,” Atkinson said. “We always work hard together.”
At the start of the second set, the Blazers’ setter Taya Kockelman stunted the Tommies’ serve receive with an ace, putting her team ahead 1-0. Middle blocker Kelly Foley didn’t let this rattle the team’s momentum and crushed a cross court shot to secure a 2-1 lead.
Potts unloaded her offensive arsenal when she cranked a shot down the line for an 8-3 advantage over the Blazers. Foley and middle blocker Paige Brimeyer pressed a strong double block to keep the team moving forward 14-5.
Potts returned the favor to the Blazers’ serve receive and locked in the 25-14 set two score with an ace of her own. Potts had two of the team’s six aces for the match.
Reese said a clean three-set streak on the Tommies’ agenda was fueling the team’s play.
“We really wanted to win the first game and sweep them in three,” Reese said. “We just treated it as a regular match, tried not to get too excited about it.”
The third set commenced when Brimeyer went up and crushed the ball cross court, putting the Tommies on the board 2-1. Foley kept up the momentum when she pounded a kill on an open Blazer net, squeaking past the Blazers 11-10.
Atkinson called it a night when she put one last kill away, handing the Blazers its second MIAC loss of the season with a 25-19 score.
For Pham, the win came from the team’s consistency in both performance and attitude.
“We kept really good composure,” Pham said. “We were just able to keep our ball control and keep it in system and that made it harder on them.”
With Luther College (Iowa) next on the team’s agenda, Pham said the team will need to stay steady.
“Definitely we need to keep our ball control and our blocking up; it really helps when our hitters make smart choices,” Pham said. “The hard work that the girls do now hopefully will pay off in November.”
Sean Crotty can be reached at crot0230@stthomas.edu.