ST. PAUL, Minn. - The University of Dubuque women's volleyball team won a five-set thriller over the St. Olaf Oles on Friday by a score of 3-2 (20-25, 25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 15-6). The Spartans continued their undefeated season with a win on Day 1 of the KTIS Classic.

The first set went back and forth between the Spartans and the Oles, with both teams tied nine different times. The Oles took a late lead and held it for a 25-20 victory. The Spartans quickly bounced back, making several runs throughout the second set to run away with a 25-16 victory to even the match at one set apiece. The third set began like the last two, with both teams knotted up at 11 before the Spartans won five consecutive points thanks to three kills from Ashley Glennon. The Spartans held off the Oles to take a 25-18 victory and take a 2-1 set lead. In the fourth set, the Spartans jumped to a 7-1 lead looking to secure the match. The Oles fought back thanks to several long runs, including winning the final six points of the set to win the set 25-22 and tie the match at two sets apiece. Both teams matched points early in the fifth set, but the Spartans dominated the final nine points, ending with a 8-1 run and a 15-6 victory to clinch the match.

Delainey Winkel hit past the opposition, racking up a season-high 18 kills to finish the match with a .291 attacking percentage. Friday's match extends Winkel's double-digit kills streak to six consecutive games to start the 2025 campaign. Caitlin Jensen and Ashley Glennon finished the afternoon with 10 kills each. Caitlin Jensen and Payton Uptagraft stifled the Oles' offense, notching five and four kill assists respectively, in addition to a solo block from Uptagraft. Taylor Bechen finished with 32 digs in the match, a total only second to her career-high 34 digs in Wednesday's win over Cornell College. Alexis Kammerer and Ashlyn McGinnis finished with 24 and 16 assists each in another stellar performance by the pair of setters.

With the victory, the Spartans improve to 6-0 and the Oles fall to 2-3 on the young season. The Spartans will compete against #17 Millikin University Big Blue coached by former UD assistant Whitney Nichols and the (RV) University of Northwestern (Minn.) Eagles on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m in Day 2 of the KTIS Classic. The Big Blue lost 3-0 to the Eagles 25-23, 25-21, 25-18 on Friday night. The Spartans lost in the NCAA DIII Tournament Regional Semifinals to Millikin University last season by a 3-0 score.