MOORHEAD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team edged closer to a spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs with a 19-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-15 road win over Concordia-Moorhead on Friday night at Memorial Auditorium.

St. Olaf (18-8, 5-4 MIAC) entered the night knowing that two victories in its final three regular-season matches would secure a playoff spot but dropped the opening set to Concordia (2-22, 2-7 MIAC) before winning the final three. The win was the eighth in a row in the series for the Oles, who remain in the sixth and final playoff spot with two matches to go.

Junior Paige Christophersen became the eighth student-athlete in recorded program history to reach the 2,000-assist milestone by tallying 32 assists, nine digs, and two aces in the victory. Sophomore Lilah Van Scoyoc, sophomore Maren Miller, and junior Holly Jelinek were all in double figures in kills for the Oles, as Van Scoyoc had a 13-kill, 12-dig double-double, Miller picked up 12 kills and seven total blocks while hitting .440, and Jelinek recorded 10 kills.

Junior Morgan Ryan registered her third match of the season with at least 30 digs with a match-high 30 to go with three assists and a pair of aces. Senior Kathryn Deist joined Ryan and Van Scoyoc in double figures with 12 digs.

After entering the night having lost 12 sets in a row, Concordia-Moorhead overcame an early 7-2 deficit to win the first set by hitting .351 in the opener. St. Olaf held a 17-16 lead in the set before the hosts went on a 5-0 run to take the lead for good.

Hobbie collected five kills on nine errorless swings to lead four Oles with three or more kills in the second set, as St. Olaf evened the match at a set apiece. The Oles raced out to an 8-2 lead early and led by as many as 11 before having to hold off a late rally by the Cobbers. After St. Olaf led 23-13, Concordia won four points in a row before Hobbie delivered kills on two of the final three points to wrap up the set. Ryan had 11 of her 30 digs on the night in the set.

St. Olaf hit just .178 in the third set but got six kills from Jelinek and held Concordia to a .143 clip to go ahead two sets to one. For the third set in a row, the Oles started the set quickly, getting out to a 6-2 lead early on. The Cobbers were within one late in the set at 20-19 before St. Olaf rattled off the final five points of the set, with the first three all coming on kills by Jelinek.

The Oles continued their trend of quick starts to sets by getting out to a 9-2 advantage in the fourth and led for the entirety of the set. Already leading 16-12, St. Olaf broke the set open with a 5-0 spurt that began an 8-1 run that put the Oles up by 11 with a string of match points.

St. Olaf will look to secure a playoff spot when the College of St. Scholastica visits Skoglund Center for a 6 p.m. match on Senior Night on Saturday, Nov. 2.