NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team began Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with a four-set win over Bethel University in its home opener on Friday evening at Skoglund Center.

After the teams split the first two sets, St. Olaf (6-4, 1-0 MIAC) tallied 34 kills and hit .348 over the final two sets to finish off Bethel (3-9, 0-1 MIAC). The victory marked the third season in a row the Oles have started MIAC play with a win.

Senior Catherine Moore led three Oles in double figures in kills with a season-high 18, while senior Anysia Caille and first year Maren Miller added 12 apiece. Miller's 12 kills came on just 23 swings, as the first year hit .435 in the win. First year Lilah Van Scoyoc chipped in with nine kills as well.

Sophomore Paige Christophersen established season highs in assists (28) and digs (13) in her second double-double of the season while also adding a pair of aces. Fifth-year senior Selena Rodriguez continued her streak of having at least 14 digs in every match this season with a match-high 18 to go with five assists, while sophomore Morgan Ryan tallied 14 digs and a team-high three aces.

In a set that included 13 ties and five lead changes, St. Olaf trailed 21-18 late in the opening set before closing the set on a 7-1 run to grab the opener by a 25-22 margin. Miller had a pair of kills and Ryan added an ace in a run of four-straight points to give the Oles the lead before Moore registered kills on two of the final three points.

Bethel responded by hitting a blistering .407 with just one attack error in the second set to even the match at a set apiece. The Royals used runs of 5-0 and 8-0 to blow the set open at 18-9 and didn't look back the rest of the way.

In the third, St. Olaf started the set on a 10-0 run on Ryan's serve, as the sophomore delivered a pair of early aces to swing the momentum back to the Oles. Bethel didn't get closer than 11 points the rest of the way and hit just .031 in the set, compared to .344 for St. Olaf. Moore recorded seven kills on 11 swings in the set.

Looking to send the match the distance, the Royals got out to a 6-1 lead to start the fourth and led by as many as 16-7 later in the set. With the Oles down by nine, Caille and Van Scoyoc combined for nine kills during a 13-0 run that gave St. Olaf a 20-16 advantage, but Bethel hung around by winning the next four points to tie the set at 20-20. With the score locked at 21-21, Moore, Miller, and junior Maycie Rogers registered kills on consecutive points to bring up three match points and, after a pair of attack errors kept the Royals in it, Moore sealed the win with her 18th kill of the night.

St. Olaf heads to St. Paul to face Hamline University on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in its second of back-to-back matches.