ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team remained unbeaten in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play and handed Hamline University its first conference loss by topping the Pipers by a 23-25, 25-11, 25-17, 25-21 score on Saturday evening at Hutton Fieldhouse.

First year Madison Gully paced the offense for St. Olaf (7-9, 3-0 MIAC) with a match-high 19 kills while hitting .361 as the Oles picked up their fifth-straight win over Hamline (12-5, 3-1 MIAC). The Pipers had started conference play with wins over Saint Ben's, Gustavus, and Augsburg.

In addition to Gully's big night, senior Katelyn Lannom had 10 kills, sophomore Catherine Moore added nine, and junior Nicole Banit tallied eight on 12 errorless swings. Senior Brynne Gray recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 25 assists and 10 digs, while junior Selena Rodriguez contributed a match-high 16 digs to go with eight assists and five aces.

St. Olaf recovered from an early 10-2 deficit in the first set to tie the set at 20-20 after winning four-straight points. The Oles grabbed a 23-22 lead on a kill by Lannom followed by a bad set by Hamline, but the Pipers won the final three points of the set to grab the opener.

After hitting .053 in the first set, St. Olaf hit a blistering .500 in the second set while limiting Hamline to a .000 clip. The Oles pulled away early on in the set, taking an 11-4 lead after a 5-0 run, and led by at least six the rest of the way to even the match at a set apiece.

Gully and Rodriguez keyed St. Olaf's 25-17 set win in the third as Gully had eight kills in the set and Rodriguez recorded eight digs and three aces. Rodriguez's first ace of the set capped a 5-0 run that gave the Oles an 8-6 lead and she later added back-to-back aces as the Oles pushed their lead to 22-14. Gully had St. Olaf's final four kills in the set.

Despite being outhit .258 to .207 in the set, the Oles closed out their second win in as many nights in the fourth. Hamline led 10-8 before Gully had two kills and Rodriguez had two aces in a 5-0 run that put St. Olaf on top for good. The Pipers got within a point at 14-13 but the Oles answered with a 4-0 run to take a five-point lead and led by at least three for the duration of the set.

Rodriguez's five aces helped St. Olaf to a season-high 11 in the win. A night after having a season-low three service errors in a sweep of Macalester, the Oles had just four in the match.

St. Catherine visits Skoglund Center on Friday, Oct. 8 for a 7 p.m. match on Parent Night.