SUPERIOR, Wis./DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball completed a perfect run through the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular season while sweeping UW-Superior and the College of St. Scholastica on Saturday on Mertz Mortorelli Gym and Reif Gym.

After starting the day with a 26-24, 25-21, 25-22 non-conference sweep of UW-Superior (20-11), St. Olaf (25-7, 11-0 MIAC) downed St. Scholastica (14-13, 5-6 MIAC) by scores of 25-22, 31-29, 25-19 to finish 11-0 in conference play for the first time since 1996 and the fourth time in program history (1993, 1994, 1996, 2025).

Senior Morgan Ryan entered the day needing five digs to reach the 2,000 milestone for her career and accomplished the feat against UW-Superior. Ryan is the second Ole in program history to record 2,000 career digs, joining Brenda Bliese, who racked up a program-record 2,227 digs from 1993-96. Ryan is also just three digs shy of a single-season program record heading into the postseason.

St. Olaf will host either fourth-seeded Bethel University or fifth-seeded St. Catherine University in the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13. The Royals and Wildcats will meet in the quarterfinals in Arden Hills on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
St. Olaf 3, UW-Superior 0 | Box Score

Junior Evelyn Kreft tallied 13 kills with just one attack error to hit .462 and lead St. Olaf past UW-Superior in three tight sets. Sophomore Mehsa Krause was also in double figures in kills with 10 for the Oles, who swept the Yellowjackets for the third season in a row and the sixth time in a run of seven consecutive victories in the series.

Ryan made a match-high 16 digs to help St. Olaf limit UW-Superior to a .145 attack percentage in the sweep. Senior Paige Christophersen recorded four of the Oles' five aces to go with 20 assists and four digs.

St. Olaf never trailed in the opening set, but UW-Superior erased three five-point deficits to tie the set late on at 21-21 with a 4-0 run. The teams alternated winning the next six points before sophomore Carlie Beckstrand and Kreft ended the set with consecutive kills for the Oles.

In the second, St. Olaf surged out to an 11-2 lead early, but the Yellowjackets hung around and were down just one at 22-21 late. The Oles closed out the set by taking the final three points on a kill by sophomore Sophie Saxton, an ace by Christophersen, and a block by Krause and junior Maren Miller.

It was UW-Superior's turn to take an early lead in the third, as the hosts opened up an 11-4 advantage and led by as many as 15-6. Facing the nine-point deficit, St. Olaf went on a 10-2 run to quickly get within one and later closed the set on a 9-3 run to complete the sweep.

St. Olaf 3, St. Scholastica 0 | Box Score

Krause, Kreft, and Miller were all in double figures in kills, as St. Olaf racked up 50 kills in the three-set win over the Saints to complete the 11-0 conference regular season. The Oles hit .256 as a team, hit eight aces, and recorded nine blocks in the sweep.

Krause registered 13 kills, seven digs, three blocks, and two aces for St. Olaf, which got 12 kills from Kreft as well. Miller totaled 11 kills on 14 swings while also being in on seven blocks, as the trio combined for 36 of the Oles' 50 kills.

Christophersen handed out 27 assists to go with five digs, three kills, and two aces, while Ryan added 16 more digs to her total defensively. Junior Michaela Dooley had a team-high three aces to go with seven digs.

St. Olaf faced a 21-17 deficit late in set one before going on a 6-0 run to take a 23-21 lead, with Dooley delivering a pair of aces in the run. After St. Scholastica stopped the run with a kill, an attack error by the Saints and an ace by Ryan gave the Oles the set by a 25-22 margin.

After leading 7-2 early in the second, St. Olaf was forced to take the set in extra points, saving six set points in a back-and-forth conclusion to the set. Krause provided kills on three of the set points, Kreft did so on two, and Kreft and senior Dori Hobbie combined on a block on another to keep the Oles in the set. With the score tied at 29-29, a block by Miller and Hobbie brought up a set point that St. Olaf converted to go up two sets to none.

The Oles hit a match-high .364 with 18 kills and two attack errors to complete the sweep in the third. Three early kills by Krause highlighted a 6-2 opening to the set for St. Olaf. Later, the Oles won six consecutive points to build a 19-13 lead and led by at least five the rest of the way.