ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team clinched its third-straight berth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs by gutting out a five-set (25-21, 25-17, 25-27, 18-25, 15-9) victory at Hamline University on Wednesday evening at Hutton Arena.

After St. Olaf (24-4, 7-3 MIAC) won the first two sets, Hamline (12-14, 2-8 MIAC) rallied to win the third and fourth sets to force a decider. In the fifth, the Oles hit .643 with nine kills on 14 errorless swings and won the final five points of the match to secure their spot in the postseason.

St. Olaf currently sits in a tie for third in the MIAC standings with Saint Benedict, one match behind Augsburg and one match ahead of Gustavus with one match to go. The Oles hold tiebreakers over the Auggies and Bennies, while the Gusties own the tiebreaker against St. Olaf, which could finish as high as the No. 2 seed and as low as the No. 5 seed in the upcoming six-team tournament.

Sophomore Katelyn Lannom recorded 18 kills and 11 total blocks while hitting .457 for her second kill-block double-double of the season for St. Olaf. The 18 kills were her second-highest total of the season, while the 11 blocks matched Lannom's career high.

Senior Lauren Rewers also posted a double-double with 17 kills and 15 digs, while junior Summer Reid added 14 kills. Junior Lexi Wall tallied a season-high 60 assists to go with eight digs. Senior Emily Jarnigan made a career-high 35 digs for St. Olaf, with first year Selena Rodriguez adding a career-high 17.

St. Olaf built a 21-16 lead late in the opening set before Hamline got within two with a quick 3-0 run. A service error and an attack error by the Pipers pushed the Oles' lead to four, 23-19, only the Hamline to win the next two points to get it back to two. After Lannom brought up set point with her sixth kill of the set, junior Morgan Marxer finished off the set with a kill to give the Oles the opener.

In the second, St. Olaf fell behind 5-1 early but rattled off six-straight points to take a 9-7 lead, with Rewers posting three kills and two blocks during the run. The run was part of a stretch that saw the Oles win 11-of-12 points to take a 14-8 advantage and St. Olaf would lead by at least four points the rest of the set.

Trailing 16-15 in the third, Marxer had back-to-back kllls to start a 4-0 run that put St. Olaf up three, 19-16. Hamline battled back to tie the set at 21-21, 23-23, and 24-24, saving a pair of match points before winning the final three points of the set to extend the match. There were 13 ties and six lead changes in the third set alone.

The Pipers used a 7-1 run midway through the fourth set to go ahead by three, 16-13, prompting a timeout by the Oles. After Hamline stretched its lead to 20-15, St. Olaf won three-straight points to get back within two but, out of a timeout, the Pipers won the last five points of the set to send the match to a deciding set.

In the fifth, St. Olaf established an 8-5 lead at the change of sides following a 5-1 run. Hamline hung around, closing the gap to one, 10-9, on a kill by Megan Rubbelke. The kill was the final point the Pipers would win, however, as the Oles claimed the final five points of the match to escape with the win. Reid had four kills on six errorless swings in the fifth, while Rewers had three kills on five swings without an error.

With the victory, St. Olaf surpassed last season's win total with its 24th of the season, which is the most for the program since 2010. Jarnigan's 35 digs gave her a MIAC-high 585 for the season, moving her into the top 10 at seventh on St. Olaf's single-season digs list.

Madison Hurrle recorded a match-high 19 kills and hit .340 for the Pipers, while Sydney Larson contributed 17 kills. Gabby Robinson had 10 kills and a team-high 31 digs.

The Oles close out the regular season by hosting Carleton on Senior Night on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at Skoglund Center.