MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team was swept for just the second time this season in a 25-23, 25-14, 25-23 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) loss to Augsburg University on Saturday evening at Si Melby Hall.
Augsburg (11-10, 3-2 MIAC) hit .322 and held St. Olaf (13-5, 3-2 MIAC) to a .197 clip to move the two teams into a tie in the MIAC standings through five matches. Prior to Saturday night, the only time the Oles had been swept this season was a 3-0 loss to North Central College back on Aug. 30 in Chicago.
First year
Carlie Beckstrand paced St. Olaf with 12 kills and hit .435 in the loss while reaching double figures in kills for the fourth time this season. After seeing her six-match double-double streak snapped on Friday night, sophomore
Lilah Van Scoyoc picked up her ninth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs to join Beckstrand in double figures.
Junior
Paige Christophersen tallied 23 assists and eight digs, while classmate
Morgan Ryan matched Van Scoyoc with 10 digs. After tallying a season-high 13 aces in Friday night's sweep of Carleton College, St. Olaf managed just two against six service errors in the match.
Van Scoyoc and Becktrand combined for nine kills in the opening set for the Oles, but Augsburg held St. Olaf to a .130 attack percentage on its way to its first of two 25-23 set wins on the night. In the set that included 13 ties and seven lead changes, the Oles were up 22-21 late on before the Auggies won four of the final five points.
Augsburg surged out to an 8-1 lead early in the second and led for the entirety of the set on its way to a 2-0 lead. The Auggies tallied 18 kills and hit .429 in the set, while the Oles had just eight kills and hit at .121.
After trailing 19-14 toward the end of the third, St. Olaf fought back to take a 23-22 lead after a 9-3 run. Augsburg tallied kills on the next two points to bring up a match point and prompt a timeout by the Oles. Out of the timeout, Bri Van Well ended the match with Augsburg's fifth ace of the night to secure the sweep.
St. Olaf will play its next four matches at home, beginning with a MIAC match against St. Catherine University on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. on Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night at Skoglund Center.
