NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team remained undefeated in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with a 25-20, 25-19, 19-25, 25-17 victory over visiting St. Catherine University on Friday evening at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (8-9, 4-0 MIAC) used strong finishes to the first two sets to grab a two-sets-to-none lead before St. Catherine (9-9, 2-2 MIAC) grabbed the third set to extend the match to a fourth set. The Oles built a five-point lead midway through the set and pulled away late to close out its ninth-straight victory in the series.

St. Olaf's 4-0 start to conference play is its best since the 2010 team won its opening four conference matches. The Oles are the only team yet to lose a MIAC match this season and sit just ahead of Gustavus and Hamline – who are both 4-1 – in the conference standings.

Sophomore Catherine Moore led St. Olaf with 12 kills, while sophomore Anysia Caille was also in double figures with 10 while hitting .368. Senior Katelyn Lannom added nine kills on 21 errorless swings to hit .429 and added a season-high eight total blocks, while junior Nicole Banitt pitched in with eight kills.

Defensively, four Oles were in double figures in digs, led by junior Selena Rodriguez's team-high 13. Junior Christina Cheng had 12 digs and two aces, while sophomore Kylie Reardon had 11 digs to go with three aces. Senior Brynne Gray had a 20-assist, 11-dig double-double and first year Waverly Thao added a match-high 24 assists.

St. Olaf took an early timeout while trailing 7-2 in the first set but quickly battled back to tie the set at 8-8. The Oles took their first lead of the set at 19-18 on back-to-back blocks by Lannom and Caille during a decisive 8-0 run that turned an 18-16 deficit into a 24-18 lead. Trailing 24-18, St. Kate's saved two set points before a service error sent the set to St. Olaf.

The Oles hit a match-high .289 with just two attack errors and never trailed in the second set to take a two-set lead. St. Olaf had its largest lead of the set at 17-10 before the Wildcats won six of the next seven points to get within a point at 18-16. Out of a timeout, a kill by first year Madison Gully, an ace by Reardon, and an attack error by Wildcats gave the Oles a 21-16 cushion that held up the rest of the way.

After hitting .083 in the first two sets, St. Kate's heated up to .257 in the third to force a fourth set. The Wildcats never trailed in the set and led by as many as nine, 20-11, before the Oles made a late push that ultimately came up short.

Lannom had five of her nine kills in the fourth set to help St. Olaf close out the win in four. The set was tied five times early on before the Oles opened up a 13-9 lead on back-to-back aces by Cheng. Already leading 19-16, St. Olaf won five-straight points – two on kills by Lannom – to bring up a series of match points and finished off the win on a kill by Moore.

The Oles head to St. Peter on Saturday, Oct. 9 to face a pair of teams receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll. St. Olaf takes on host Gustavus at 1 p.m. followed by UW-La Crosse at 3 p.m.