MANKATO, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team rallied from fifth-set deficits of at least three points in both matches to record five-set victories over UW-Superior and host Bethany Lutheran on Saturday.
 
In the opener, St. Olaf (15-5) posted its first comeback from two sets down in over two years with a 23-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-18, 15-12 victory over UW-Superior (15-8). Playing its second five-setter in succession for the first time since 2009, the Oles downed Bethany Lutheran (6-15) 25-22, 24-26, 25-20, 21-25, 17-15 for the second time this season.
 
The back-to-back five-set victories were the first for the Oles since Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, 2009 when St. Olaf defeated Gustavus Adolphus and Luther.
 
St. Olaf 3, UW-Superior 2 | Box 
 
For the first time in over two years, St. Olaf rallied from two sets down to win in five, as four Oles posted double-digit kills to help the Oles battle past the Yellow Jackets. Prior to Saturday, the last two-set comeback by St. Olaf came on Sept. 6, 2016 and was also against UW-Superior at Skoglund Center.
 
Sophomore setter Lexi Wall was at the middle of an offensive attack that hit .292, assisting on 66 of the Oles' 71 kills in the match. Wall's 66 assists were one shy of her career-high 67 against Saint Benedict last season, which were the most by a Division III student-athlete in a match last season.
 
Sophomore Summer Reid posted her fourth double-double in five matches, finishing with a match-high 18 kills and 19 digs while hitting .350. Junior Lauren Rewers had 13 kills and nine digs, while senior Alison Curry and first-year Katelyn Lannom each tallied 12 kills. Junior Haley Langeslag led the Oles defensively with 20 digs and also had a match-high four aces.
 
The Yellow Jackets limited the Oles to attack percentages of just over .200 in each of the first two sets, rallying from 21-15 down to claim the first before pulling away late in the second to grab a two-set lead.
 
Sophomore Morgan Marxer was in on a block and had back-to-back kills as part of a 5-0 run that put the Oles ahead 5-2 in the third. St. Olaf would not relinquish the advantage, claiming the set 25-15 after limiting UW-Superior to a .028 attack percentage in the set.
 
In the fourth, the Oles hit .500 with just two attack errors to push the match to a decider. Leading 16-15, St. Olaf won five-straight points to build a six-point cushion with Reid contributing back-to-back kills to close the spurt. Lannom had kills the final three St. Olaf points of the set.
 
UW-Superior built an 8-5 lead at the side change in the decider before three-straight points brought the Oles even. Consecutive kills by Rewers and Grimes broke a 10-10 tie and, after a Yellow Jacket point, Rewers registered back-to-back kills to bring up match points for the Oles. After UW-Superior saved one, Curry tallied her season-high 12th kill of the match to complete the comeback.
 
St. Olaf 3, Bethany Lutheran 2 | Box
 
Reid, Lannom and Marxer combined for 41 of St. Olaf's 53 kills as the Oles outlasted Bethany Lutheran to finish the day 2-0. St. Olaf overcame 30 kills from Megan Rutt in the five-set victory.
 
Reid again led St. Olaf with 16 kills, while Lannom added 13 and Marxer registered 12. Wall posted her third double-double of the season 44 assists and 10 digs, with Langeslag tallying a match-high 21 digs for her second 20-dig performance of the day.
 
The Vikings held a 20-18 advantage towards the end of the first set before a late-set rally saw the Oles take the opener. Trailing 20-18, St. Olaf opened up a 24-20 lead of its own and, after Bethany Lutheran fended off a pair of set points, won the set on a Lannom kill.
 
The script was flipped in the second set, as Bethany Lutheran evened the match at a set apiece with a late rally of its own. Three-straight points gave the Oles a 22-20 lead but the Vikings won four of the next five to go up 24-23. A block by Curry and Wall brought St. Olaf even at 24-24 before Bethany Lutheran won the next two points to tie the match after two.
 
In the third, the Oles won six consecutive points to open up a 9-5 advantage early on, with Marxer contributing two kills in the run. The Vikings got within two on three occasions and were down three, 22-19, late in the set before Marxer registered back-to-back kills to help St. Olaf go up two sets to one.
 
Bethany Lutheran broke a 19-19 deadlock in the fourth by winning three-straight points. A Wall kill and an attack error brought St. Olaf back within a point only for the Vikings to win the final three points to send the match to a decider.
 
The Vikings raced out to a 9-4 lead in the fifth, prompting a St. Olaf timeout. Out of the stoppage, the Oles knotted the score at 9-9 thanks in part to back-to-back Reid kills and a Langeslag ace. Later, a service error gave St. Olaf a match point at 14-13, but Bethany Lutheran won the next two points to bring up a match point of its own. Another Viking service error tied the match at 15-15 before an error and a Marxer kill gave the Oles the win.
 
St. Olaf travels to Crown College on Monday, Oct. 8 for a 6 p.m. match in St. Bonifacius.