Northfield, Minn. – The Gustavus Adophus volleyball team made it an official winning-streak with a 3-0 sweep of Carleton College on Wednesday night at West Gym. Thanks to a balanced night both offensively and defensively, the Gusties secured their third straight victory via set scores of 25-23, 25-13, and 25-23. Gustavus will head into the weekend with an overall record of 7-8 and an MIAC record of 2-0. Carleton sees its six-match win-streak come to an end and now holds an overall record of 10-4 and an MIAC mark of 0-2.
Although the Gusties led for the majority of the opening set, Carleton battled back down 17-13 to go up 19-18 and later 23-21. After Kelle Nett (Jr., Spring Valley, Ill.) cut the lead to 23-22 with a kill, Gustavus took advantage of two Knight attack errors before Taylor Trautman (So., Hutchinson, Minn.) ended the set with a kill to allow Gustavus the 25-23 win.
Taylor Trautman finished the match with a team-best eight kills (.267) and three block assists, while Kelle Nett recorded seven kills (.200) and three block assists.
After a back-and-forth start to the second set, Gustavus began to take control with the score tied 6-6. A kill by Trautman at that point sparked a 10-0 scoring-run that saw the Gusties on top 16-6. The Black and Gold didn’t look back from there, leading by as many as 13 points en route to the 25-13 set two victory.
Head Coach Rachelle Sherden’s club didn’t let off the gas pedal and quickly jumped out to an 11-2 advantage in the third. Despite Gustavus’s fast start, the Knights refused to go away quietly. Following a 12-to-4 point swing, Gustavus led by just one point up 15-14. The Gusties countered with four of the next five points to go up 19-15, but, once again, Carleton mounted a comeback and eventually tied the set at 22-22. The frame went to 23-23 before Gustavus put an end to the match thanks to an attack error on the Knights and a kill by Alyssa Taylor (Jr., Trimont, Minn.).
Alyssa Taylor matched Trautman’s team-high kill total with eight (.227) of her own to go along with four blocks (2 solo). Sammy Kremer (Fy., Lakeville, Minn.) and Becca Woodstra (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) rounded out Gustavus’s balanced offensive with six kills each.
As a team, Gustavus registered 41 kills with a .231 attack percentage. Carleton finished with 35 kills and a .117 attack percentage.
The Three Crowns defense also displayed a solid top-to-bottom effort. Abby Leitch (Fy., Mankato, Minn.) led the way with 11 digs followed by Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.) with eight, Kremer with seven, and Kendra Weege (Sr., Watertown, Minn.) and Marisa Morgan (Fy., Rockford, Ill.) with six. Morgan ran the offense and distributed 30 set assists – reaching the 30-assist mark for the fifth consecutive match.
The Gustavus volleyball team will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 27 when it plays host to the University of St. Thomas at 3:00 p.m. on Gus Young Court.