ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team pushed its winning streak to 14 matches and remained alone atop the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) standings with a 25-23, 21-25, 25-12, 25-18 victory over the College of Saint Benedict on Friday night at Claire Lynch Hall.

After splitting the first two sets, St. Olaf (18-6, 7-0 MIAC) rolled to a convincing win in the third and closed out the match in the fourth to hand Saint Ben's (15-5, 6-2 MIAC) just its third home loss since the start of last season. The win was also the third in the last four meetings in St. Joseph for the Oles, who received votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/Taraflex Division III Women's Volleyball Poll.

The victory kept St. Olaf as the lone unbeaten team in MIAC play this season and got the Oles within one win of clinching a playoff spot with four conference matches remaining. St. Olaf's 14-match winning streak is its longest since 2009 and the sixth-longest in recorded program history.

Sophomore Carlie Beckstrand led a balanced offensive attack for St. Olaf with 11 kills while hitting .348 in the victory. Junior Lilah Van Scoyoc and sophomore Mehsa Krause added 10 kills apiece, with Krause tallying a match- and career-high 19 digs to go with two aces. Junior Evelyn Kreft picked up nine kills, while junior Maren Miller had seven.

Senior Paige Christophersen fell one dig shy of reaching the 1,000-dig milestone on a night where she had 22 assists and six digs, while junior Sophie Saxton handed out 17 assists to go with six digs and an ace. Junior Michaela Dooley and senior Morgan Ryan registered 17 digs apiece, with Dooley's 17 being the highest total of her collegiate career.

In a set where both teams hit under .100, St. Olaf led 24-20 late in the opening set before Saint Ben's fended off three set points to cut the Oles' lead to one and force a timeout. Out of the stoppage, Beckstrand ended the set, which included 11 ties and seven lead changes, with a kill. Krause had 11 of her 19 digs in the opener to help the Oles limit the Bennies to a .039 attack percentage.

The second set featured 15 ties and nine lead changes before Saint Ben's evened the match at a set apiece. St. Olaf held a 21-19 lead late in the set before the hosts rattled off the final six points for a 25-21 set win.

In the third, the Oles responded by holding the Bennies to a -.061 attack percentage while rolling to a 25-12 victory to take a two-sets-to-one lead. St. Olaf broke a 3-3 tie with a 7-0 run on Krause's serve and led by 13 on five occasions in the set. The Oles did not commit their first attack error of the set until they held a 20-7 lead.

Beckstrand provided five kills on six swings in the fourth set to help St. Olaf finish off the win. Leading 11-10 near the midway point of the set, the Oles went on a 5-0 run that included two kills by Van Scoyoc to build a six-point cushion and led by at least four the rest of the way.

St. Olaf will look to officially wrap up a playoff spot at home on Saturday, Oct. 25, when the Oles host St. Catherine University (3 p.m.) and UW-Stevens Point (7 p.m.) for a tri-match at Skoglund Center.