NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The second-seeded St. Olaf College volleyball team took the opening set before third-seeded Gustavus Adolphus won the final three for a 24-26, 25-22, 25-16, 25-22 win in the semifinals of the 2026 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Volleyball Playoffs on Thursday night at Skoglund Center.
After St. Olaf (23-8) won the opening set in extra points, Gustavus (20-11) came back from 16-13 down in the second before rattling off the final three sets to move on to the championship match against top-seeded Bethel University. The Royals defeated the fourth-seeded College of Saint Benedict in four sets to earn the right to host Saturday night's title match.
The loss brought an end to the careers of St. Olaf's senior class of
Evelyn Kreft,
Michaela Dooley,
Maren Miller, and
Lilah Van Scoyoc. The quartet helped the Oles to a 90-37 record in their career, as well as four MIAC Playoff appearances, one MIAC regular-season title, and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Van Scoyoc tallied 14 kills and just one error on 36 swings to hit .361 while also being in on five blocks in her final match as an Ole. Miller tallied nine kills and six block assists, while junior
Mehsa Krause compiled nine kills and 17 digs. Dooley wrapped up a standout senior season with 21 digs and five assists, while first year
Kaela Clerveaux had a double-double of 19 assists, 13 digs, and one ace.
Logan Brent carried the load offensively for Gustavus with 22 kills on 65 swings to go with 14 digs. Meaghan Kreiser added 11 kills and Lauren Barker had nine. Ava Hahn neared a triple-double with 23 digs, nine assists, and seven of the Gusties' 10 aces.
St. Olaf overcame eight first-set kills by Brent to win the opener behind a balanced offensive attack with five Oles with multiple kills. After trailing 16-12, St. Olaf went on a 5-1 run to even the set at 17-17 before going on a 4-1 run to take a 21-19 lead. Gustavus saved three set points in a row to even the set at 24-24 before kills by Kreft and Miller gave the Oles the set.
Gustavus jumped out to a 7-1 lead to start the second behind three aces in a row by Hahn, but St. Olaf went on an extended 10-2 run to take the lead at 13-10. Trailing 16-13, the Gusties won seven points in a row, six of which came on Hahn's serve, to go up 20-16 and held off a late charge from the Oles to win it by a 25-22 margin.
Gustavus took charge of the third set with an 8-2 surge midway through that resulted in a 19-12 advantage. The Gusties hit .275 in the third and held the Oles to a .093 clip. Gustavus finished off the win in the fourth, using a 3-0 mini run to bring up three set points at 24-20 and, after back-to-back kills by Van Scoyoc kept the Oles alive, getting an attack error to end it.
