ST. PETER, Minn. – For the second year in a row, the St. Olaf College volleyball team endured a five-set loss to Gustavus Adolphus College in the championship match of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs, as the No. 18-ranked and top-seeded Gusties edged the third-seeded Oles by a 25-22, 20-25, 29-27, 21-25, 17-15 score on Saturday night at Gus Young Court.
St. Olaf (21-9) twice rallied from a set down to even the match over the first four sets and held leads of 8-4 and 12-9 in the fifth set, but Gustavus (25-6) outlasted the Oles by winning eight of the last 11 points of the match. The Oles had a match point at 14-13 but were unable to convert before saving a match point to tie the decider at 15-15, only for the Gusties to win the final two points to claim the MIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
After being ranked fourth in Region IX in this week's NCAA Regional Rankings, St. Olaf will await word on a potential at-large bid into the national tournament during the NCAA Selection Show, which will air at 12 p.m. CST on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 13.
Seniors
Catherine Moore and
Anysia Caille tied for the team lead with 16 kills in the match for the Oles, while first year
Maren Miller added 10 with a .364 attack percentage. Sophomore
Paige Christophersen handed out 33 assists to go with 16 digs, while fifth-year
Selena Rodriguez closed out her standout career with a 38-dig, eight-assist night.
Fellow fifth-year senior
Christina Cheng delivered five of St. Olaf's eight aces and contributed 20 digs, seven kills, and three block assists. Sophomore
Morgan Ryan helped the Oles rack up 128 digs with a 25-dig night, while first year
Skylar Fildew joined Christophersen with double-doubles with 16 assists and 15 digs.
After Gustavus won the opening point of the match, St. Olaf benefited from four Gustie errors during a 7-0 run to take a very-early 7-1 lead in the opener. Midway through the set, the Gusties won nine-of-10 points to open up an 18-14 advantage, but the Oles battled back to tied the set at 20-20. Gustavus finished the set stronger, however, winning four of the last five points to break a 21-21 tie.
The Gusties led 13-10 midway through the second set before the Oles won eight points in a row – three on kills by Moore – to grab an 18-13 lead and kept the lead for the rest of the set. Gustavus got within one at 18-17, but St. Olaf claimed five of the next six points before closing out the set on a kill by Caille.
In the third, the Oles trailed 23-20 late before winning four points in a row to bring up a set point, which the Gusties saved on a kill by Madi Kes. St. Olaf had two more set points at 25-24 and 26-25, but the hosts fended off both points and finished the set on a 4-1 run to take it in extra points, 29-27. Lauren Klaith had two of her match-high 22 kills late in the set and Mayssa Tweet delivered an ace on the final point.
St. Olaf responded in the fourth set to force the match to a deciding set. The Oles raced out to a 7-2 lead in the early stages and never relinquished the advantage. Gustavus closed the gap to a single point six times, with the last time coming at 20-19 before Miller had a kill and was in on block with Cheng as part of a mini 3-0 run that helped St. Olaf push its lead back to four. After the Gusties cut the Oles' lead to 23-21, Moore provided a kill and Miller and Cheng combined for a block to close out the set.
At the change of sides in the fifth, St. Olaf held an 8-4 lead, but Marlee Turn capped a 4-0 run for Gustavus with three-straight kills to tie it at 8-8. First year
Lilah Van Scoyoc registered back-to-back kills following one from Caille to give the Oles a 12-9 lead before the Gusties won three points in a row to pull even again. A kill by Moore gave St. Olaf a match point at 14-13, but Klaith saved it with a kill to start a 4-1 end to the set to punch Gustavus' ticket back to the NCAA Tournament.
