NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team recorded a 25-17, 20-25, 25-15, 25-21 victory over cross-town rival Carleton in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) contest and held onto the the cowbell Friday evening at Skoglund Center.

The Oles claimed the third and fourth sets after Carleton (12-10, 2-9 MIAC) took the lead 15-14 in the second set and held it for the rest of the set. St. Olaf (23-6, 7-4 MIAC) responded in the third set, taking a 7-3 lead after senior Alison Curry posted a kill for the Oles. After an attack error by the Knight, St. Olaf extended its lead to nine. Junior Lexi Wall started a four-point run for the Oles at 21-14 in the third set, followed by a kill from Summer Reid.

St. Olaf stayed within a point of Carleton in the fifth set until back-to-back errors by the Knights lit a run for the Oles and Morgan Marxer extended the lead to 14-11. Sophomore Lauren Rewers continue to extend the lead with a kill to give the Oles a five point advantage. Carleton crept within two at 20-18 but the Oles were able to hold on to the lead for the rest of the set, finishing 25-21 after a service error by the Knights.

Reid and Rewers led St. Olaf with 14 kills a piece and Curry added 10. Wall collected 47 assists in the match, while junior Haley Langeslag tallied 20 digs. First-year Katelyn Lannom posted five kills, four digs, five blocks and two service aces in the victory.

In the first set, St. Olaf took the lead 9-8 with a kill from Marxer and extended it to four at 16-12 after Carleton made an attack error. A kill from Reid gave the Oles a 21-16 lead and finally took their largest lead of the set with a an ace serve from Lannom to close out the set at 25-17.

St. Olaf posted 54 kills in the match compared to just 42 from Carleton and held the Knights to a .152 hitting percentage, thanks to 58 digs from the Oles.

The Oles finds out who its first opponent is in the MIAC Tournament following various matches around the MIAC tomorrow afternoon.