NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team aims for its third-straight appearance in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs in 2019 with a roster that returns the vast majority of its production from a year ago.

In 2018, the Oles made their second consecutive appearance in the MIAC Playoffs, falling to third-seeded St. Thomas in the quarterfinals after finishing in a three-way tie for fourth in the regular season with a 7-4 mark in conference play. St. Olaf's 23-7 overall record marked the program's highest win total since 2010.

After graduating three seniors from last season's team, St. Olaf returns 73.0 percent of its kills and 96.2 percent of its digs this fall. Leading the group of returners are a trio of two-time All-MIAC honorees in senior Lauren Rewers and juniors Summer Reid and Lexi Wall.

Rewers earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable Mention All-America and All-Central Region honors after finishing second in the MIAC in kills per set (3.48) and third in kills (365) as a junior and enters her senior season as one of 11 Oles to record at least 1,000 career kills.

Reid joined Rewers in the MIAC's top 10 in both kills per set (seventh, 2.92) and kills (10th, 304) and the pair combined to contribute nearly 500 digs defensively. Wall led the MIAC and ranked second in NCAA Division III in assists per set (11.55) and logged seven assist-dig double-doubles for the Oles.

Also returning are sophomore middle blocker Katelyn Lannom, who added 201 kills while hitting a MIAC-best .376 and 69 total blocks, as a first year, and junior outside hitter Morgan Marxer, who pitched in with 163 kills and 52 total blocks a year ago. St. Olaf ranked 13th in the nation in kills per set (13.49) last season.

Senior defensive specialist/libero Haley Langeslag is also back after finishing fifth in the MIAC in digs (519) and digs per set (4.85) last season and she was one of five returners to record at least 20 aces in 2018. In addition to Lannom and Marxer, Rewers surpassed 50 total blocks last year with 59, giving St. Olaf three returners who recorded at least 50 in 2018.

In addition to the 14 returners from last year's team, head coach Emily Foster brought in six first years to add to this season's 20-player roster.

The group of 20 will be challenged right out of the gate with a four-match trip to California to face four Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponents this weekend at the Pacific Coast Classic, including three teams receiving national attention in the AVCA preseason poll. La Verne and California Lutheran both received votes in the poll, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps enters the season ranked No. 5 in the country.

In total, 14 of St. Olaf's 19 2019 non-conference opponents made their conference tournaments last season and head coach Emily Foster believes the challenging non-conference slate will prepare the Oles for MIAC play, which begins against St. Thomas at home on Sept. 18. St. Olaf was picked to finish sixth in Monday's 2019 MIAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll and will face three of the five teams picked ahead of them at home this fall.

2019 MIAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (11 for first, 10 for second, etc.) Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with vote totals listed and first-place votes shown in parentheses.

1. Saint Benedict (7), 114
2. Gustavus (3), 106
3. St. Thomas (1), 99
4. Augsburg (1), 90
5. Bethel, 83
6. St. Olaf, 82
7. Saint Mary's, 53
8. Concordia, 50
9. St. Catherine, 46
10. Hamline, 28
11. Carleton, 25
12. Macalester, 16