NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team picked up its first-ever victory over the University of Chicago with a five-set (25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-6) win over the Maroons to open the Carleton/St. Olaf Invitational on Friday evening at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (6-6) won the odd-numbered sets and rebounded from dropping the fourth to cruise the win over UChicago (4-6) by hitting .727 in the decider. The Maroons, who received votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll, had won the previous three meetings in the series, all since 2021.

Junior Evelyn Kreft tallied a career-high 15 kills – six more than her previous high mark – and hit .355 to lead three Oles in double figures offensively. Sophomore Mehsa Krause added a double-double of 13 kills, 13 digs, three aces, and two blocks, while classmate Carlie Beckstrand contributed 10 kills.

Senior Paige Christophersen recorded 31 assists and a pair of aces, while senior Morgan Ryan registered a match-high 26 digs to go with nine assists. St. Olaf hit a season-best .280 as a team and had eight aces in the win.

Five Oles picked up multiple kills in the opening set, which St. Olaf won by a 25-19 margin. The Oles broke an 11-11 tie with a 7-0 run on the serve of junior Michaela Dooley, highlighted by a kill by Dooley on a free ball that landed in the corner, to take control. After trailing by nine, the Maroons cut their deficit to five at 24-19 before Beckstrand ended the set with a kill.

Chicago won the second set by hitting an even .400 and broke a 21-21 tie with a 4-2 close to the set. After trailing 20-15 in the third, the Maroons went on a 6-0 to take a one-point lead, but the Oles recovered by winning five of the final six points – four on attack errors by the visitors – to grab a two-set-to-one advantage.

St. Olaf was within three points of a four-set victory in the fourth with a 22-20 lead, but Diya Mishra delivered kills on the final five points of the set for the Maroons to push the match to a fifth set. The Oles started the fifth set on a 7-0 run and went on to claim the decider, 15-6, thanks, in part, to four kills from Krause. St. Olaf had eight kills on 11 errorless swings in the fifth.

On day two of the tournament, the Oles will take on Wartburg College (12 p.m.) and No. 1-ranked UW-Whitewater (4 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 20.