EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team knocked off fourth-ranked UW-Eau Claire in five sets (16-25, 25-19, 26-24, 18-25, 15-9) for its second win over a top-15 team this season on Wednesday night at the Sonnentag Event Center.
After entering the night 9-0 all-time in Eau Claire, St. Olaf (15-5) bounced back from dropping the fourth set by racing out to a 6-0 lead in the fifth on its way to handing UW-Eau Claire (13-4) just its fourth loss in its last 33 home matches since the start of the 2024 season. The win was the Oles' fifth in their last seven matches against teams ranked in the top five nationally and improved St. Olaf to 6-0 on the road this season, including both of its top-25 victories to date.
UW-Eau Claire was ranked No. 4 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)-Taraflex Division III Women's Volleyball Poll, while the Oles received votes. St. Olaf's other top-25 win this season was a five-set victory at then No. 14-ranked Washington University in St. Louis.
Despite being out-aced (11-4) and out-blocked (11-9) in the match, St. Olaf found a way to win by using a balanced offensive attack with six Oles tallying at least eight kills on the night. Senior
Evelyn Kreft was one of four Oles in double figures in kills with a team-high 14. Junior
Mehsa Krause had 12, while seniors
Maren Miller and
Lilah Van Scoyoc added 10 apiece. Junior
Carlie Beckstrand and sophomore
Zahara Johnson also contributed offensively with nine and eight kills, respectively.
Junior
Sophie Saxton recorded 27 assists, while sophomore
Kailani Schroeder handed out 25. Johnson and Krause were each in on four total blocks. Krause picked up a career-high 24 digs, senior
Michaela Dooley finished with 21, and sophomore
Lauren Welch registered 16.
After four ties in the first eight points, UW-Eau Claire took control of the opening set with a 7-1 run that resulted in an 11-5 lead. The Blugolds led by as many as 10 at 16-6 and took the opener by a 25-16 margin after hitting .250 and holding the Oles to a .073 clip.
St. Olaf tallied 15 kills, four aces, and a .375 hitting percentage in the second set to even the match at a set apiece. After overcoming an early 8-4 deficit, the Oles used a 5-1 run late in the set to turn a 16-15 edge into a 21-16 cushion. UW-Eau Claire won the next two points before Van Scoyoc had two kills in a 4-1 finish to the set for St. Olaf.
The Oles relied on their defense and seven kills from Kreft to win the third in extra points by a 26-24 margin. St. Olaf limited the hosts to a .095 hitting percentage thanks, in part, to five blocks in the set. After the set was tied for the 12th time at 23-23, the Blugolds brought up a set point on a kill by Mya Cinnamo, who led the match with 20 kills, but the Oles won the next three points, with kills by Kreft bookending the mini 3-0 run.
Cinnamo spurred UW-Eau Claire to a 25-18 win in the fourth set to force a decider, tallying seven kills with just one error on 17 swings. In the decider, the Blugolds committed a service error on the opening point and attack errors on four of the next five points in St. Olaf's 6-0 start. The Oles extended their lead to 10-3 to prompt a second UW-Eau Claire timeout and, after the Blugolds saved two match points, closed out the win on the Blugolds' sixth attack error of the set. UW-Eau Claire hit -.130 in the fifth set, compared to .273 for St. Olaf.
The Oles will head to Macalester College on Saturday, Oct. 17 for matches against the Scots (1 p.m.) and UW-La Crosse (3 p.m.).
