NORTHFIELD, Minn. – In a matchup of teams fighting for Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoff spots, the St. Olaf College volleyball team outlasted Concordia College (Minn.) 25-21, 25-17, 21-25, 22-25, 16-14 on Saturday afternoon on Parent Day at Skoglund Center.
 
St. Olaf (21-6, 5-4 MIAC) and Concordia (8-16, 4-5 MIAC) entered the match in a three-way tie for the sixth and final spot in the MIAC Playoffs, but the Oles jumped out to a two-sets-to-none lead by hitting over .360 in each of the first two sets. The Cobbers, however, fought back to win the third and fourth sets and overcame a 10-5 deficit to tie the fifth set at 14-14 before the Oles finished off their third five-set victory of the season.
 
First-year Katelyn Lannom registered a career-high 19 kills on a career-high 39 swings, hitting .410 for St. Olaf, which hit .231 in the match. In addition to Lannom's 19-kill performance, junior Lauren Rewers had 18 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double in as many days. After a season-high 20 kills the night before, Rewers' 18 kills brought her within seven of becoming the second Ole to reach the 1,000-kill milestone this season, along with senior Megan Grimes.
 
Sophomores Summer Reid and Lexi Wall also recorded double-doubles, with Reid tallying 14 kills and 13 digs and Wall adding 54 assists and 15 digs. Junior Haley Langeslag led the defense with a career-high 31 digs, one more than her previous high of 30 against No. 14 Northwestern (Minn.) on Sept. 5.
 
Lannom and Rewers each had five kills in the first set, as the Oles took the opener behind a .367 attack percentage. Lannom had four kills to help St. Olaf to an 18-9 lead before Concordia gradually chipped away at the lead. The Cobbers saved three set points to make the score 24-21 prior to a Rewers kill that sealed the set.
 
With Concordia leading 13-11 in the second, St. Olaf won eight consecutive points, seven on Wall's serve, to take control, with Lannom providing back-to-back kills to close the run. After hitting .367 in the first, the Oles hit .371 in the second while limiting the Cobbers to a .129 clip to go up two sets.
 
St. Olaf's only lead in the third set was 4-3 as the Cobbers held the Oles to a .100 percentage to extend the match. Concordia jumped out to a 10-5 lead at a St. Olaf timeout early on and led 19-13 before a 4-0 run reduced the Cobbers' lead to two. The visitors won four of the next five points to go back ahead by five on their way to a 25-21 set win.
 
The largest lead for either team in the fourth set was two points until Concordia closed the set by winning five of the last six points to push the match to a decider. A 4-0 run by the Cobbers put them ahead 19-17 and, after the Oles went ahead 21-20, another four-point run brought up set points for Concordia. Brianna Carney provided the set-clinching kill for the Cobbers on the next point after a solo block by Lannom on Carney.
 
The fifth set featured a combined five runs of at least three points in a row. St. Olaf used runs of 3-0 and 4-0 early in the set to take a 7-3 lead and kills by Rewers and Reid gave the Oles a 10-5 lead. Out of a timeout, the Cobbers won six-straight points to take an 11-10 advantage.
 
St. Olaf stopped the run on a solo block by Wall and Reid followed with back-to-back kills to give the Oles a 13-11 lead. The Cobbers extended the fifth set by tying it at 14-14, but consecutive kills by Lannom and Morgan Marxer gave St. Olaf the five-set victory. The Oles hit .282 in the fifth, compared to .192 for the Cobbers.
 
Concordia held a 12-7 advantage in blocks in the match, but hit over .200 in just one of the five sets and finished at .170 for the afternoon. Cuppett and Brianna Carney each had 10 kills for the Cobbers, with Carney also contributing nine block assists.
 
St. Olaf travels to Winona on Wednesday, Oct. 24 to face Saint Mary's in another match with MIAC Playoff implications at 7 p.m.. The Cardinals are currently 4-5 in the MIAC, one match behind the Oles for the final playoff spot.