Arden Hills, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of Bethel University on Wednesday night at the Robertson Center Gym. The Royals cruised to straight-set victory via set scores of 25-18, 26-24, and 25-18 and as a result secured a place in the 2014 MIAC Playoffs. Gustavus drops to 11-13 overall and 5-5 in the MIAC, while Bethel improves 18-8 overall and 7-3 in the MIAC.
The Royals recorded 42 kills and hit .279 as a team compared to Gustavus’s 37 kills and .138 attack percentage.
Alyssa Taylor (Jr., Trimont, Minn.) once again led the offense with match-high 13 kills to go along with an attack percentage of .375. Kelle Nett (Jr., Spring Valley, Ill) finished next in line with nine kills (.375), while Janessa Jahnke (So., Blue Earth, Minn.) registered eight (.148).
Bethel’s Carlee Hoppe equaled Taylor’s kill total with 13 and hit .314. Kali Johnson and Tegan LaBerge each posted nine kills to follow Hoppe.
Abby Leitch (Fy., Mankato, Minn.) led Gustavus with 15 digs, while Marisa Morgan (Fy., Rockford, Ill.) added 10. Morgan also did the setting and finished with 31 assists – going over the 30-assist mark for the fourth consecutive match. Her setting counterpart, Katie Lubben, distributed a match-high 35 assists and added nine digs. Maddison Messner led Bethel defensively with 12 digs.
The Gustavus volleyball team will travel to Wionona, Minnesota in hunt of playoff spot on Saturday, Nov. 1. The Gusties will square off against he Cardinals at 3:00 p.m. in the SMU Gym.