ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Senior Lauren Rewers tallied 17 kills on a night that saw her move into seventh place in program history in career kills, as the St. Olaf College volleyball team swept Bethel University by scores of 25-15, 25-19, 25-22 on Friday evening at Robertson Center Gym.

St. Olaf (22-4, 5-3 MIAC) and Bethel (15-9, 4-4 MIAC) entered the night tied for fifth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) standings, but the Oles moved ahead of the Royals after their first sweep of Bethel in Arden Hills since Oct. 11, 2000. Rewers reached double figures in kills for the ninth-straight match, finishing with a match-high 17 while hitting .467.

Rewers' 17 kills moved her past Danica Finseth '06 and into seventh on St. Olaf's all-time kills list with 1,375 for her career. The Oles, who were receiving votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Top 25 and were ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division III Central Region Rankings, hit .287 in the win, while limiting the Royals to a .124 clip.

In addition to her 17 kills, Rewers tallied 13 digs to record her 11th double-double of the season. Junior Summer Reid added 11 kills and hit .409 in the match, while classmate Lexi Wall totaled 37 assists.

Senior Emily Jarnigan recorded a match-high 17 digs and six assists, with first year Selena Rodriguez contributing a career-high 10 digs to go with two aces.

After the teams were tied nine times in the first 20 points, St. Olaf seized control of the opening set with an 8-0 run behind the serve of Rodriguez. The 8-0 run was part of a stretch of 10-of-11 points won the the Oles, which included four kills from junior Morgan Marxer. St. Olaf held Bethel to a .024 attack percentage in the opening set, taking it 25-15.

The Oles raced out to an 11-2 lead in the second set, as Rewers had four kills in the early stages of the set. The Royals got within five, 13-8, with a 5-0 run of their own before St. Olaf pushed its lead back to double digits at 20-9 following a 7-1 run of its own. Another 5-0 run later in the set brought Bethel back within six, 21-15, but the Oles led by at least five the rest of the set.

St. Olaf trailed 16-14 in the third set before taking its first lead of the set by winning three-straight points. Consecutive kills by Reid broke a 17-17 tie as the Oles built a 22-19 lead before the Royals got a kill and a block from Macie Gavic to cut their deficit to one. Gavic canceled out a kill by Rewers to keep Bethel down just one, 23-22, but a kill by Katelyn Lannom and an error by Bethel gave the match to St. Olaf.

No Royal had more than six kills in the match, as six Bethel players had between three and six on the night. Allie Fauth led the hosts with six kills and 12 digs, while Hannah Wilhite and Ellie Hoyt combined for 26 assists.

The Oles conclude their weekend with a match at Macalester on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m.