NORTHFIELD, Minn. (October 17, 2025) – The UW-Stout volleyball team opened strong but couldn't sustain the momentum, falling 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 16-25, 17-25) to St. Olaf College on Thursday night at the Skoglund Athletic Center.
Stout (14-7) took the opening set behind balanced hitting and strong blocking, overcoming an early deficit to edge the Oles 25-23. The Blue Devils hit .152 in the frame while holding St. Olaf (17-6) to .196. Kyra Giffen and Brooke McCune powered the attack in the set, each coming through with key kills late to seal the win.
St. Olaf responded with a dominant second set, racing out to a 10-2 lead and never looking back en route to a 25-19 victory. The Oles hit .395 in the frame, led by middle Maren Miller, who tallied four of her 10 kills during the run.
The third and fourth sets followed a similar script, as Stout couldn't find rhythm offensively. The Blue Devils were limited to just four kills in the third set and hit -.080, while St. Olaf closed strong, taking the final two sets 25-16 and 25-17 to complete the comeback.
McCune led Stout with 11 kills and 12 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Giffen added 10 kills, while middle blocker Brynn Hessel was a force at the net with eight block and five kills on .400 hitting. Setters Nadia Marchionda dished out 12 assists and Lainey Todd and Rylan Fogarty each added nine. Libero Kailey Kline posted a team-high 17 digs.
Defensively, Stout finished with 10 total blocks, each team finished with 62 digs.
St. Olaf was paced by Lilah Van Scoyoc's 15 kills and Miller's .588 hitting percentage. Morgan Ryan anchored the back row with 24 digs.
The Blue Devils return home Tuesday, Oct. 21, to face Hamline University at Johnson Fieldhouse. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
