NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team knocked off its highest-ranked opponent in over 20 years by upsetting the fourth-ranked University of Northwestern (Minn.) by a 25-17, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22 score on Wednesday evening at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (8-9) held Northwestern (15-2) to a .110 attack percentage – its lowest in 43 matches dating back to early last season – to down the nationally-ranked Eagles. Prior to Wednesday night, the last time the Oles defeated a team ranked as high as No. 4 in the country was a four-set win over No. 4-ranked Elmhurst College on Oct. 26, 2001 in Whitewater, Wis. St. Olaf had won just six of its prior 44 matches against nationally-ranked teams since the start of 2011, including each of its last 10.

Senior Selena Rodriguez led St. Olaf's defensive effort with a career-high 34 digs while also handing out seven assists. Rodriguez was one of five Oles with at least a dozen digs in the match, as St. Olaf racked up 101 digs as a team. Senior Christina Cheng added 17 digs, while first years Morgan Ryan (14), Paige Christophersen (13), and Taylin Gosch (12) were also in double figures.

Christophersen and Gosch both logged double-doubles for the Oles, as Christophersen handed out 22 assists and Gosch contributed 17. Junior Catherine Moore paced St. Olaf with 12 kills and classmate Anysia Caille recorded 10 in the win, while fifth-year senior Katelyn Lannom was in on a match-high six total blocks.

St. Olaf jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the first set and never trailed on its way to a 25-17 set win, holding Northwestern to a .034 attack percentage in the set. The Eagles got within a point on four occasions, including at 17-16 before the Oles won five-straight points to build a six-point cushion. Rodriguez had 10 digs in the first set alone.

After trailing 4-2 early in set two, the Oles won five of the next six points to take the lead and never trailed from that point on to go up two sets to none. St. Olaf led by just two at 13-11 before winning nine of the next 11 points out of a timeout to take a commanding 22-13 lead. Moore got going offensively in the set for the Oles with six kills.

The third set featured 12 ties and seven lead changes before Northwestern was able to extend the match to a fourth set. The Eagles built a 21-16 lead late on with a 9-2 run, but the Oles battled back to get within two at 22-20 to prompt a Northwestern timeout. Out of the stoppage, the Eagles won the final three points of the set to stay alive in the match.

St. Olaf surged out to a 6-1 lead early in the fourth set and did not trail in the set, although Northwestern fought back to tie the score at 9-9 and 18-18. With the score deadlocked at 18-18, Caille had a pair of kills as part of a 4-1 run that gave the Oles a 22-19 lead. Four points later, a ball handling error by the Eagles brought up a match point for St. Olaf, which Northwestern saved on a kill by 2021 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Freshman of the Year Abby Glanzer, but Moore ended the match with a kill on the next point to seal the win.

St. Olaf returns to the court on Friday, Oct. 7 for a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Butler Center.