CHICAGO, Ill. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team began its season by posting a pair of wins over teams receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll, topping UW-La Crosse in three sets and Aurora University in five sets at the University of Chicago's Gargoyle Classic on Friday at Ratner Center.

St. Olaf (2-0) began the day by sweeping UW-La Crosse (0-2) by scores of 25-13, 25-19, 25-17 to give head coach Emily Foster her 100th-career victory with the program. Later in the day, the Oles outlasted Aurora (0-2) by a 10-25, 25-23, 26-24, 18-25, 15-9 margin in the second-straight five-set match between the two programs.

On day two of the tournament, St. Olaf takes on the host and No. 25-ranked University of Chicago at 10 a.m. and Whitworth University, which is also receiving votes in the national poll, at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3.

St. Olaf 3, UW-La Crosse 0 | Box Score

In the first match of the season for both teams, St. Olaf held UW-La Crosse to a .000 attack percentage while hitting .273 itself to sweep the Eagles for the third-straight meeting between the two programs. The Oles also held a 12-4 advantage in aces in the match.

Senior Christina Cheng had a match-high 10 kills and hit .500 for the Oles, while also contributing five digs and two aces. Junior Catherine Moore added seven kills and fifth-year senior Katelyn Lannom tallied six. Defensively, senior Selena Rodriguez recorded a match-high 13 digs to go with three assists and three aces, while first year Morgan Ryan added three aces of her own.

First years Paige Christophersen and Taylin Gosch split time at setter, with Christophersen handing out 18 assists and Gosch adding 14. Christophersen also had three of St. Olaf's dozen aces in the win.

With the Oles leading 6-5 early in the opening set, St. Olaf took command with a 7-1 run – including three kills by Cheng – that extended its lead to 13-6 and prompted a timeout by the Eagles. UW-La Crosse never got closer than four points the rest of the set and hit -.061 in the opener, compared to .312 for St. Olaf. Cheng had five of her 10 kills in the set, which ended with the Oles winning the final eight points.

The Eagles held an early 8-5 lead in the second set, which quickly disappeared thanks to a 5-1 run by the Oles. The score remained within two points until St. Olaf won three-straight points to open up a 20-15 cushion in the latter stages. The Oles made that lead stand up late in the set to take a two-sets-to-one lead. St. Olaf had five aces in the set, with Rodriguez and Ryan each recording two.

In the third, the Oles won seven-of-eight points to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 13-9 lead midway through. UW-La Crosse hung around and trailed by just three, 18-15, until St. Olaf won five of the final seven points to seal the victory. Lannom had a pair of kills in the 5-2 finish to the match and sealed the win with an ace on match point.

St. Olaf 3, Aurora 2 | Box Score

After Aurora rolled through the first set, St. Olaf bounced back to take a two-sets-to-one lead with two-point victories in the second and third sets, only for the Spartans to send the match the distance by winning the fourth. In the decider, the Oles held the Spartans to three kills and a .118 attack percentage to claim a five-set win for the second-straight season in the series.

Moore paced St. Olaf with 16 kills and was joined in double figures by classmate Anysia Caille with 10. First year Tatum Sims registered nine kills for the Oles, who hit .183 in the match. Rodriguez tallied 27 digs, Cheng had 11 to go with six kills, and Ryan added 10. Christophersen and Gosch combined for 49 assists on St. Olaf's 53 kills.

Sydnei Avery had kills on all seven of her swings in the opening set – and finished with 20 kills for the match – to help Aurora race to a 25-10 set win to start the match. The Spartans hit .526 and had five aces while holding the Oles to a -.059 attack percentage in the set.

Aurora held a 17-12 advantage in the second set before St. Olaf mounted a late rally to even the match at a set apiece. Still trailing 22-19, the Oles rattled off three-straight points to tie the set and, after the Spartans went back ahead, won the last three points on kills by Cheng, Moore, and Lannom to even the match up.

Neither team led by more than three for the entirety of the third set, which St. Olaf claimed in extra points. The Oles led 23-20 late on before the Spartans won four of the next five points to level the set at 24-24, but a kill by Caille and an ace by Rodriguez gave the set to St. Olaf.

Aurora used an 8-1 run midway through the third set to claim a 20-14 lead and held on the rest of the way to send the match the distance. In the fifth, the Oles won six-straight points to take a 9-4 advantage and force the Spartans to take both of their timeouts. The Spartans got back within two at 11-9 before St. Olaf used three-straight kills and an ace by Christophersen to close out the win.