ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team ran its winning streak to six matches by claiming a four-set (25-20, 15-25, 25-23, 25-21) road victory over Bethel University in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Friday evening at the Robertson Center.

In a matchup of teams who both entered the night riding five-match winning streaks, St. Olaf (10-6, 2-0 MIAC) regrouped after dropping the second set with strong finishes to the third and fourth sets to top Bethel (6-7, 0-1 MIAC). The victory came after the Oles dropped both meetings – both on the road – with the Royals last season, including a four-set defeat in the quarterfinals of the MIAC Playoffs.

After being named the MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, junior Evelyn Kreft led four Oles in double figures in kills with 15 to tie her career high while hitting .414. Junior Lilah Van Scoyoc and sophomore Mehsa Krause added 11 apiece, with Krause making a career-high 15 digs for her first collegiate double-double. Junior Maren Miller had 10 kills on 15 swings to hit .533 for the Oles, who hit .275 as a team.

Senior Paige Christophersen recorded a 29-assist, 17-dig double-double, while sophomore Sophie Saxton neared a double-double of her own with 20 assists and nine digs. Senior Morgan Ryan tallied 15 digs, six assists, and two aces.

Three early aces by Lauren Hetfeld helped Bethel open up a 9-3 lead early in the first set, but St. Olaf went on to win the set by hitting .350 with 15 kills with just one attack error. Sophomore Carlie Beckstrand had four kills in the set, while Krause and Kreft had three apiece. The Oles went on an 8-2 run to take the lead after trailing 11-7 and, later, won six of the final eight points of the set after the Royals got within one at 19-18.

After a clean first set, St. Olaf committed three attack errors on the first nine points of the second set to fall in a 7-2 hole. Peyton Howie, Sara Scherber, and Hannah Penke, who combined for 48 of Bethel's 59 kills on the night, tallied 14 of the Royals' 16 kills in the set, as the hosts hit .419 to even the match at a set apiece with a 25-15 set win.

Neither team led by more than three points in the third set, which St. Olaf won, 25-23, thanks to a 4-1 finish to the set. Facing a 22-21 deficit, the Oles got a kill from Kreft, a block from Van Scoyoc and Miller, and an ace from Krause to bring up two set points. After an attack error kept Bethel in the set, Kreft delivered her seventh kill of the set to give St. Olaf a 2-1 lead. The Oles had kills on 20 of the 25 points they won in the third.

Despite being outhit by over 40 percentage points in the fourth, St. Olaf closed out the four-set victory thanks, in part, to four kills on as many swings from Kreft. The Oles were down 11-7 before going on a 5-1 run to tie the set at 12-12 to prompt a Bethel timeout. St. Olaf built a 19-16 lead with a 3-0 mini run, but the Royals hung around by getting within a point at 22-21 before Kreft delivered kills on two of the final three points of the match to give the Oles the road win.

St. Olaf will be off during the week before returning to action for a 6 p.m. match at Concordia-Moorhead on Friday, Oct. 3.