DUBUQUE, Iowa – The St. Olaf College volleyball team extended its winning streak to five matches with four-set victories over the University of Dubuque and St. Norbert College to begin the Duhawk Classic on Friday afternoon at Stoltz Sports Center.

St. Olaf (6-2) started the tournament by recovering from dropping the first set to top Dubuque (5-5) by a 18-25, 29-27, 25-17, 25-18 margin despite hitting just .104 as a team in the victory. The Oles followed that up by winning the final three points to close out a 26-24, 25-15, 22-25, 25-23 win over St. Norbert (4-6). The 6-2 start is St. Olaf's best start to a season through eight matches since 2019 (7-1).

The Oles will face Loras College (10 a.m.) and UW-La Crosse (12 p.m.) on day two of the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 14 at Loras' Lillis Court.

St. Olaf 3, Dubuque 1 | Box Score

Sophomore Lilah Van Scoyoc tallied career highs in kills (15) and digs (20) to lead St. Olaf past Dubuque in the first match of the day. Junior Morgan Ryan compiled the first double-double of her career with a career-high-tying 27 digs to go with a career-high 10 assists and three aces.

The Oles held the Spartans to a .028 attack percentage while tallying 96 digs as a team, with senior Kathryn Deist joining Van Scoyoc and Ryan in double figures with a career-high 16 digs in addition to three aces. Van Scoyoc was the only Ole in double figures in kills, as senior Maycie Rogers was second on the team with nine. Sophomore Maren Miller was in on a career-high nine total blocks, four of which were solo blocks.

Ryan made 10 digs in the opening set for St. Olaf, which could not overcome a -.040 attack percentage in the set. After trailing 6-1 early, the Oles fought back to tie the set at three occasions but never managed to take the lead. Dubuque broke a 17-17 tie by winning seven of the final eight points to take a one-set lead.

St. Olaf flipped the script in the second by limiting Dubuque to a -.023 attack percentage while getting multiple kills from six different student-athletes to even the match at a set apiece. The Oles had six set points up 24-18, but the Spartans took the next seven points to bring up a set point of their own. Junior Dori Hobbie snapped the streak with a kill to keep St. Olaf in the set, which the Oles eventually won in extra points by a 29-27 margin.

Rogers and Van Scoyoc combined for 11 kills and just one error in the third set to get St. Olaf one set from the win. After dropping the first two points, the Oles rattled off seven points in a row and never relinquished the lead.

In the fourth, St. Olaf jumped out to a 6-1 lead early on behind a pair of early aces from Ryan. Dubuque stayed in the set and took an 11-10 lead before the Oles won six points in a row to take the lead for good. The Spartans went on a 3-0 run to close within one point at 18-17, but St. Olaf claimed seven of the final eight points to close out the win.

St. Olaf 3, St. Norbert 1 | Box Score

St. Olaf used a balanced attack with three Oles in double figures to finish off the day with a four-set win over the Green Knights. Rogers (12), Miller (12), and Van Scoyoc (10) all registered double-digit kills for St. Olaf, with Van Scoyoc adding 16 digs for her second double-double of the day. Junior Paige Christophersen also logged a double-double of 28 assists and 11 digs, while Ryan picked up a match-high 19 digs.

In the first, St. Olaf surged out to a 9-2 lead behind a 5-0 run on the serve of Van Scoyoc, but St. Norbert rallied from a 12-4 deficit to get within one with a 7-0 run of its own. Late in the set, the Oles won back-to-back points to take a 22-20 advantage only for the Green Knights to win the next four points to bring up a pair of set points. St. Olaf fought off the set points on a kill by first year Carlie Beckstrand and an ace by sophomore Skylar Fildew before getting a pair of attack errors from St. Norbert to take the set, 26-24.

The Oles hit .533 with 16 kills and zero errors on 30 swings to cruise to a 25-15 win in set two. After trailing 4-3 early, St. Olaf won 11 points in a row to build a 10-point lead and led by at least nine the rest of the way. The Oles were within five points of the sweep late in the third up 20-19, but the Green Knights closed the set on a 6-2 run to send the match to a fourth set.

St. Norbert seemed poised to extend the match to a decider with a 15-7 lead in the fourth, but St. Olaf won 10 of the next 12 points to tie the set at 17-17. The Oles opened up a 22-19 cushion on back-to-back kills by Van Scoyoc and Rogers, but the Green Knights took the lead back with a 4-0 run. Rogers delivered kills on the next two points to bring up a match point for St. Olaf before Beckstrand sealed the win with a kill.