NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The second-seeded St. Olaf College volleyball team visits top-seeded and No. 14-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College for the championship match of the 2022 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Volleyball Playoffs on Saturday evening.

St. Olaf (16-12) returned to the championship match for the second time in the last three non-COVID seasons by sweeping third-seeded St. Kate's in the semifinals on Thursday evening to advance to its seventh title match since 2000. The Oles will head to St. Peter to take on Gustavus for the title at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 after the Gusties swept the fifth-seeded College of Saint Benedict in Thursday night's other semifinal.

The winner of Saturday night's match will receive the MIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Per MIAC policy, admission will be charged for all postseason contests. Tickets are $10 adults and $2 for students. Children five and under are admitted for free. Live video and statistics will be available for those unable to attend the game.

St. Olaf is 3-3 in its six championship match appearances since 2000, winning team titles in 2000, 2002, and 2010, while finishing as the runner-up in 2001, 2009, and 2019. The Oles' three postseason conference championships are the fourth-most in the conference over that period, one behind both Gustavus and Concordia-Moorhead.

The Oles and Gusties have not previously met with a MIAC Playoffs title on the line but are meeting in the postseason for the second-straight season after top-seeded Gustavus swept fourth-seeded St. Olaf in the semifinals a year ago at Gus Young Court. The 2021 semifinal is the lone previous encounter between the two programs in the MIAC Playoffs. The Gusties have won 10 of the last 11 head-to-head matchups with the Oles dating back to 2013, with the lone St. Olaf victory coming during the spring of 2021 by scores of 25-23, 28-26, 25-21.

Gustavus is making its 12th appearance in the MIAC Playoffs dating back to 2000 and is 11-8 all-time in the tournament after Thursday night's win. The Gusties are the defending championships after winning their fourth title in 2021 and all four of their titles have come in the last six seasons (2015, 2016, 2018, 2021). Gustavus is 4-1 in its previous five appearances in the championship match with its lone loss coming to the University of St. Thomas in 2008.