ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team had its four-match winning streak stopped by the College of St. Benedict on Friday night in three sets (25-17, 25-20, 25-16). The Cougars now stand at 4-2 overall on the season.

An unusually high number of errors contributed to UMN Morris' struggles in the match. The Cougars had 23 attack errors and hit just .056 as a team.

St. Benedict flew out to a 6-0 lead in the first set, but Minnesota Morris regrouped and tied the score at 8-8 with back-to-back kills from Kennedy Geller before kills from Brenna Tinjum and Mia Frick made it 10-8 in favor of the Cougars. Still leading, 12-11, the Cougars fell behind on four straight points from the Bennies and were never closer than two the rest of the first set.

The two sides essentially traded points back and forth for the first 12 points of the second set before St. Benedict reeled off seven straight to take a 12-6 edge. From there, the Cougars were able to get back within three, 15-12, but could never get closer as they fell behind 2-0 in the match.

St. Benedict opened the third set by scoring 11 of the first 13 points. Though the Cougars fought back to within three on multiple occasions, six straight from the Bennies turned an 18-15 lead into a 24-15 advantage and that proved too much for Minnesota Morris to overcome.

Tori Everson led the Cougars on the night with nine kills, while Maggie Jones added eight. Mia Frick had six kills and a team-best .222 hitting percentage. McKenzie Newton totaled 22 assists and nine digs, while Alyssa Ukestad led the defensive effort with 20 digs.

With tomorrow's scheduled match at Northland College postponed, the Cougars are next in action on April 1, hosting the University of Northwestern at Jim Gremmels Court starting at 5 p.m.