STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team won the second set to even the match at a set apiece, but No. 12-ranked UW-Stevens Point claimed the final two sets to record a 25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 25-12 victory on night one of the Pointers Invitational on Friday evening at Berg Gym.

After dropping the first set, St. Olaf (5-7) hit a match-high .286 on its way to winning the second set, but UW-Stevens Point (11-2) won a tight third set and cruised through the fourth set to secure the win. The Oles were in search of their first win over a nationally-ranked team since a four-set victory over the No. 13-ranked College of Saint Benedict in the semifinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Nov. 7, 2019.

Junior Catherine Moore had 16 kills and hit .306 on the night but was the only Ole with more than six kills in the match. First year Paige Christophersen logged her third-straight double-double with 21 assists and 12 digs, while senior Selena Rodriguez recorded a match-high 20 digs for her seventh match with at least 20 digs this season.

Ashley Kopp had a match-high 18 kills, 14 digs, and five aces for UW-Stevens Point, which had 14 aces in the win, while Melanie Meyer added 14 kills and 11 digs. The Pointers had at least four aces in all three sets they won.

Kopp had five kills and three aces in the opening set to help the hosts to a one-set advantage, recording all three of her aces in an 8-2 start to the match for UW-Stevens Point. The Pointers led by as many as 13 in the opening set at 20-7 before the Oles won nine of the final 14 points.

After hitting just .138 in the opening set, St. Olaf had 15 kills and hit .286 in set two to even the match at a set apiece. Leading 10-8, the Oles broke the set open by winning seven-straight points to take a 17-8 lead and led by at least five the rest of the way.

St. Olaf jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third, only for the lead to be erased by a 4-0 run by UW-Stevens Point. The Pointers used an 8-1 run to take a 14-8 advantage midway through the set, but the Oles closed to within one at 17-16 with a 5-0 run of their own. Trailing 24-20, St. Olaf saved two set points on back-to-back kills by junior Anysia Caille, but an attack error gave the set to UW-Stevens Point.

In the fourth, the Pointers never trailed after jumping out to a 5-2 lead early on, as the Oles hit just .000 in the final set of the match. St. Olaf was within two points at 7-5 before UWSP won the next five points to build a seven-point cushion.

On day two of the tournament, the Pointers take on St. Norbert College (12 p.m.) and Carthage College (2 p.m.), with both matches taking place in Quandt Fieldhouse.