St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team will travel to St. Joseph, Minnesota to face the College of Saint Benedict in the quarterfinals of the 2014 MIAC Playoffs on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 7:00 p.m. Gustavus heads into the MIAC Playoffs as the No. 6 seed after finishing the regular season 11-14 overall and 5-6 in the MIAC. Saint Benedict earned the No. 3 seed after going 20-8 overall and 9-2 in the MIAC.
FROM THE MIAC
The semifinal winners will advance to the championship match, which will be played Saturday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. on the home court of the top remaining seed. The MIAC Playoffs champion will receive the postseason championship plaque and the conference’s automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament. St. Thomas is the defending MIAC Playoff champion.
The MIAC has a home page dedicated to the 2014 MIAC Volleyball Playoffs, containing schedules, links and information on each of the six teams in the field. There is also an interactive bracket to help fans track the tournament’s progress. Throughout the tournament, the page will be updated with scores, stats, updated schedules and more.
Fans can also follow the action on the MIAC Scoreboard or on the free MIAC mobile app. Connect throughout the Playoffs on social media through the MIAC’s Facebook page or Twitter account, using the hashtag #MIACVB.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live video and live stats for Tuesday’s match will be produced by Saint Benedict.
GUSTAVUS LINKS
Roster | Statistics | Schedule/Results
SAINT BENEDICT LINKS
Roster | Statistics | Schedule/Results
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
The Gustavus volleyball team is making its first appearance in the MIAC Playoffs since 2011 when the Gusties fell in the quarterfinal round to Saint Ben’s on Nov. 1 in St. Joseph. Tuesday’s match will be the 55th meeting between Gustavus and Saint Ben’s in volleyball. With a 3-1 victory in this year’s regular season matchup on Oct. 25 in St. Peter, the Blazers knotted the all-time series at 27-27.
Gustavus heads into the postseason averaging 11.73 kills per set (9th/MIAC) with a team attack percentage of .192 (7th/MIAC). Ranking tenth in the league with 274 kills (2.88 kps), junior middle hitter Alyssa Taylor (Trimont, Minn.) enters the playoffs Gustavus’s top offensive threat. The team’s most consistent and dominant player at the net, Taylor boasts an attack percentage of .326 (5th/MIAC) and leads the MIAC in blocks with 91. Becca Woodstra (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.), Taylor Trautman (So., Hutchinson, Minn.), and Kelle Nett (Jr., Spring Valley, Ill.) round out Gustavus’s top hitters. Woodstra has 205 kills (2.2 kps) with a .158 attack percentage, Trautman has 140 kills (1.51 kps) with a .111 attack percentage, and Nett has 140 kills (1.59 kps) with a .202 attack percentage.
Running Gustavus’s offense as the team’s primary setter this season has been rookie Marisa Morgan (Rockford, Ill.). Morgan ranks fourth in the MIAC in total assists (792) and fifth in assists per set (8.34). Amongst MIAC setters, Morgan ranks second in kills with 65.
Defensively, Gustavus ranks seventh in the league in digs per set at 16.96. Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.) and Abby Leitch (Fy., Mankato, Minn.) have been in charge of the Gustie back row all season and lead the team with 356 (3.75 dps) and 331 digs (4.09 dps), respectively.
SCOUTING THE BLAZERS
The Saint Benedict volleyball team boasts one of the top offenses in the MIAC after its 28-match regular season schedule. The Blazers are averaging 14.03 kills per set (1st/MIAC) and hitting at a rate of .219 (5th/MIAC). Leading the way at the net with 313 kills (5th/MIAC) for an average of 3.13 kills per set (8th/MIAC) is Laura Schmitt. Lexi Rinde is the team’s second-ranked attacker with 257 kills (2.92 kps), while Sophie Stangl rounds out the top three with 231 kills (2.4 kps).
The key to Saint Ben’s offense rests in the hands of setter Taya Kockelman who leads the league with 1,121 assists for an average of 11.1 assists per set. Kockelman has also proven to be opportunistic and efficient on the attack, leading the MIAC with a .378 attack rate and all the league’s setters with 148 kills.
Pacing a back row that ranks third in digs per set (18.20) is Victoria Nass and Laura Schmitt. Nass is one of three defensive specialists in the conference to reach the 500-dig mark this season with 503 (3rd/MIAC) digs to her credit. To go along with her prowess on offense, Nass ranks second on the team and 12th in the MIAC in digs with 383.