NORTHFIELD, Minn. – After a four-set win in the quarterfinals on Wednesday evening, the fourth-seeded St. Olaf College volleyball team will visit top-seeded and No. 25-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College in the semifinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Friday evening.
St. Olaf (14-12) booked its spot in the semifinals for the third time in the last four editions of the MIAC Playoffs with a 23-25, 25-16, 25-6, 25-18 victory over fifth-seeded Augsburg on Wednesday night at Skoglund Center. The Oles' reward is a trip to St. Peter to take on top-seeded Gustavus (24-5), which shared the MIAC regular-season title with Bethel but earned the No. 1 seed by virtue of sweeping the Royals during the regular season.
Per MIAC policy, admission will be charged for all postseason contests. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $2 for students with ID. Children five and under are free and MIAC passes will be accepted. Live video and live stats will be available for those unable to attend.
Friday night's other semifinal match will see third-seeded Hamline visit second-seeded Bethel in Arden Hills. The Pipers outlasted sixth-seeded Saint Ben's in five sets in the other quarterfinal on Wednesday.
In Wednesday night's quarterfinal, St. Olaf stormed back after dropping a tightly-contested opening set to post convincing set wins in the final three sets, including a dominant 25-6 win in the third set. Senior
Katelyn Lannom led the way offensively for the Oles with a season-high 15 kills, while first year
Madison Gully added 13 kills and hit .522. Junior
Selena Rodriguez had nine of St. Olaf's season-high 14 aces in the win and added a match-high 17 digs.
With the win, St. Olaf improved to 14-9 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs, with the 14 victories representing the third-highest total of any program in the tournament's history. The Oles have won the MIAC Playoffs on three occasions (2000, 2002, 2010).
Gustavus earned a bye into the semifinals after sharing the regular-season championship with Bethel thanks to a 10-1 run through the MIAC regular season. The Gusties' lone loss this season in conference play came in five sets at Hamline on Sept. 25.
In the regular-season meeting between the two teams, Gustavus rallied after dropping the first two sets to pick up a five-set (22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-4) win over St. Olaf in St. Peter on Oct. 9. Rodriguez had a career-high 32 digs in the loss, while sophomore
Catherine Moore had a match-high 17 kills while hitting .294.
Friday night's semifinal will be the first-ever meeting between the Oles and Gusties in the MIAC Playoffs.
