NORTHFIELD, Minn. – For the second season in a row, the St. Olaf College volleyball team will take on Gustavus Adolphus College in the championship match of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs, as the two teams meet on Saturday evening for the title.

Third-seeded St. Olaf returned to the championship match with a four-set victory at the second-seeded College of Saint Benedict on Thursday evening, while Gustavus earned the right to host the title match by sweeping fourth-seeded St. Catherine University in St. Peter. The Oles and Gusties will meet for the postseason title and the MIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at Gus Young Court.

Per MIAC policy, admission will be charged for the MIAC Playoffs. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $2 for students with ID, with children five and under being free of charge. MIAC passes will be accepted, but no other passes will be honored. Live video and live stats will be provided by Gustavus.

St. Olaf, which has won 12 of its last 13 matches, dropped the first set of its semifinal to Saint Ben's but raced through the second set to get on its way to the four-set victory. Senior Catherine Moore tallied a season-high 20 kills and hit .342 in the win, while classmate Anysia Caille added 15 kills and hit .367, as the duo accounted for 35 of St. Olaf's 55 kills on the night.

Gustavus, which was ranked No. 18 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll, booked its spot in the championship match with a 25-14, 25-20, 25-23 win at home over St. Kate's on Thursday evening. The Gusties limited the Wildcats to 29 kills and a .139 attack percentage and got a match-high 15 kills from Lauren Klaith in the victory.

The Oles are in the championship match of the MIAC Playoffs for the eighth time in program history (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2022, 2023) and the third time in the last four seasons of the tournament under head coach Emily Foster. St. Olaf is 3-4 in its previous seven appearances in the title match and won the tournament in 2000, 2002, and 2010. With their two victories this season, the Oles are 17-11 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs, with the 17 wins being the second-highest total of any current MIAC member (Saint Ben's – 21).

Gustavus is in the title match for the third year in a row and fourth time in the last five postseasons and improved to 13-8 in the MIAC Playoffs with its semifinal win. The Gusties have won five of their previous six MIAC Playoff championship matches, claiming titles in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022, and are in the MIAC Playoffs for the 13th time (2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023).

Saturday night's championship match will mark the third-straight year the Oles and Gusties have met in the MIAC Playoffs after the teams had not met in the tournament prior to 2021. Last season, top-seeded Gustavus outlasted second-seeded St. Olaf in five sets at Gus Young Court in a match that saw the Oles win sets three and four to force a decider. In 2021, the top-seeded Gusties swept the fourth-seeded Oles in the semifinals by scores of 25-19, 25-19, 25-18. In the regular-season meeting this year, then-No. 20-ranked Gustavus took three close sets from St. Olaf at Skoglund Center on Oct. 20.