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Ole Volleyball Remains Undefeated at 12-0

Brie Mattson
September 24, 2001

This weekend?s conference play brought the Cobbers of Concordia College and the Blazers of the College of St. Benedict to St. Olaf?s Skoglund Athletic Center. Neither team stopped the Oles undefeated winning streak this weekend, and the Oles record now stands at 12-0. Friday night?s match, September 21, was a great crowd-pleaser; three quick games coupled with a dynamic offense gave the crowd plenty to cheer about. The match on Saturday, September 22, gave the Ole fans a great show and was completed in three games with fierce competitive spirit.

The Concordia Cobber?s brought with them an unknown threat, having a completely new team of almost all first-years. The Oles prepared mentally by focusing on their own game rather than preparing to react to what the Cobbers were likely to do. The key to their game was serving. The team total of service aces for the match was 19, with Veronica Cherne (FY, Bloomington, Minn) leading the team with 5 aces. The second key for the match was to present a wide variety of quick offenses, successfully carried out by setter Brie Mattson (Jr., Anoka, Minn) with 37 total assists. Emily Ganzkow-Wold (Jr., Madison, Wis.) had an outstanding game by leading the team in attack percentage with 0.611. The entire team rallied together with great chemistry and won the match 30-14, 30-18, and 30-18. This match brought the Oles record to 11-0, as well as heightening the confidence of the team.

Saturday?s match had a bit more emotion tied to the win. Last year the Blazers and the Oles rallied back and forth; the Blazers taking the conference win and the Oles taking the conference tournament win, but this year is different. The match was a fight of which team wanted the win more and which team could play most consistently. Shannah Olson (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) had an outstanding match with the leading attack percentage of 0.423, as well as stopping the Blazer offense with 13 digs and 2 block assists. She hit above, to the side, and through the Blazer blocks all night. The team fed off of her energy and took the match 30-21, 30-27, and 30-20.

The Oles, now 12-0 and ranked 10th in the last national poll, will take on the College of St. Catherine?s at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, September 26, in St. Paul and then will have the weekend off. The Ole?s next home game is not until 7:30 PM, Wednesday, October 10 against Macalester.

Contact Judy Stromayer at 507-786-3315 or stromaye@stolaf.edu.