ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senior
Lauren Rewers registered 22 kills as the St. Olaf College volleyball team won its third match in four days with a 25-19, 27-25, 27-29, 25-16 victory at St. Catherine University on Saturday afternoon at Butler Center.
St. Olaf (19-3, 2-2 MIAC) had a match point in the third set before St. Catherine (10-8, 0-4 MIAC) took the set to extend the match to a fourth set. The Oles regrouped in the fourth, hitting an even .400 with 16 kills and just two errors on 35 swings, to close out the four-set victory. St. Olaf has won the last eight matches between the two programs dating back to 2012.
In addition to her second-highest kill total of the season, Rewers recorded 15 digs and four block assists for her 10th double-double of the fall. Junior
Lexi Wall posted her fifth assist-dig double-double in the last six matches with 41 assists and 17 digs, while junior
Summer Reid added 11 kills.
Senior
Emily Jarnigan joined Wall and Rewers in double figures in digs with 21, marking the ninth time in the last 11 matches she has recorded at least 20 digs. Senior
Haley Langeslag made eight digs to pass Kirstee Rotty '13 for seventh on St. Olaf's all-time digs list with 1,348 in her career.
St. Olaf forced an early timeout by St. Kate's in the first set after winning five-straight points to take a 7-2 lead. The Wildcats battled back to tie the set at 11-11, but the Oles broke a 15-15 tie by winning 10 of the final 14 points of the set.
The Wildcats held a 20-15 lead in the second set before the Oles generated a late rally to grab a two-set lead. Trailing 24-22, St. Olaf saved two sets points on kills by Lannom and Rewers to prompt a timeout by St. Kate's. Out of the break, another Lannom kill gave the Oles a set point and, after an attack error evened the set at 25-25, St. Olaf got kills from Lannom and Reid to complete the late-set rally.
The Oles overcame an early 11-4 deficit in the third set to take a 17-16 lead after a 6-1 run. St. Kate's used a 6-1 run of its own to claim a 23-21 lead, but St. Olaf won the next three points on a kill and two aces by Lannom to reach match point. The Wildcats survived, however, to send the match to a fourth set by taking the set in extra points, 29-27.
St. Olaf bounced back by racing out to a 6-1 lead at the start of the fourth set as Rewers delivered three-straight kills at the end of the run. The Oles led 13-4 before the Wildcats won six consecutive points to get within three, but St. Olaf responded by winning seven of the next nine to go back up eight, 20-12, and led by at least six the rest of the match.
