ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team was five points from completing a reverse sweep before the College of Saint Benedict rallied late in the fifth for a 25-22, 27-25, 20-25, 22-25, 15-10 victory in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday evening at Claire Lynch Hall.

After dropping the first two sets, St. Olaf (19-9, 6-5 MIAC) fought back to win the next two to force a decider and led 10-8 in the fifth before Saint Ben's (12-11, 8-3 MIAC) won the final seven points of the match. Both teams had already secured spots in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs entering the night but were playing for seeding in the six-team field.

With the regular season complete, the Oles will enter the MIAC Playoffs as the No. 6 seed and will visit third-seeded Bethel University in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. Saint Ben's, which earned the No. 4 seed with the win, will host fifth-seeded Augsburg University in the other quarterfinal.

Sophomore Lilah Van Scoyoc, junior Caitlin Lee, and first year Carlie Beckstrand were all in double figures in kills for St. Olaf, as Van Scoyoc had 14 and Lee and Beckstrand added 10 apiece. Junior Holly Jelinek also had nine for the Oles, who hit .182 as a team compared to .208 for the Bennies.

Junior Morgan Ryan recorded 34 digs for her fourth match this season with at 30, while also contributing three assists, two aces, and a kill. Senior Kathryn Deist matched her career high with 20 digs and had a pair of aces, while junior Paige Christophersen handed out a team-high 34 assists to go with two aces and six digs.

The first set featured 12 ties and five lead changes but went the way of Saint Ben's by a 25-22 margin despite five early kills from Jelinek. The Bennies used a mini 3-0 run to build a 23-18 lead late on, but the Oles won the next four points to reduce their deficit to one. Mackenzie Knofczynski delivered a kill for the hosts to bring up a set point and then paired with Brooke Andries for a block to seal the set.

St. Olaf overcame an 11-6 deficit early in the second to take a 19-16 lead, but Saint Ben's won the next four points to reclaim the lead at 20-19. Consecutive kills from Van Scoyoc and Lee saved set points with the Oles down 24-22 and another from Christophersen fended off another with CSB up 25-24. Saint Ben's wrapped up the set, which included 11 ties and five lead changes, with a kill by Andries and a block.

In the third, the Oles surged out to a 7-0 lead on Ryan's serve and led all the way to stay alive thanks, in part, to six kills from Van Scoyoc in the set. Saint Ben's got within one at 13-12 midway through the set, but St. Olaf won five of the next six points to rebuild a five-point cushion and held off another late push by the Bennies.

Seven Oles picked up at least one kill in the fourth set to help St. Olaf extend the match to a decider. Saint Ben's went on a 10-1 run to open up a 12-6 lead midway through, but the Oles went on an 8-1 run of their own later on to grab a 22-17 lead and held on. Sophomore Evelyn Kreft had four kills and a block over the final 12 points of the set.

St. Olaf broke a 7-7 tie in the fifth with a 3-1 spurt that ended with a kill by Kreft, but that was the final point the Oles won. Andries had four kills in the closing 7-0 run for Saint Ben's.