Nora Holtan racked up 104 assists, 31 digs and 13 kills last week to earn her second-straight MIAC Setter-of-the-Week award.
Article courtesy of Matt Higgins, MIAC Assistant Executive Director
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team made history last week, as its three wins pushed their current winning streak to 21 in row, which eclipsed the school record of 20-straight victories. Rookie Nora Holtan (Rochester, Minn./Mayo) continued to play beyond her years, as the first-year setter racked up 104 assists (10.40 per set) with 31 digs and 13 kills to lead the Gusties to the three big wins. For her performance, the MIAC sports information directors honored Holtan with her second-straight MIAC Volleyball Setter/Libero-of-the-Week award.
Holtan started the week with a 39-assist, eight-dig performance in a 3-1 MIAC win over Macalester. Then, Saturday, she helped Gustavus tie and break the record with consecutive victories No. 20 and 21 over Simpson (3-0) and Loras (3-0). She had a 28-assist, 11-dig double-double against Simpson and a 37-assist (12.33 per set), 12-dig performance against Loras. This season, Holtan ranks second in the MIAC in assists (678) and third in assists per set (8.69 in overall matches, and in conference play only she leads the conference in assists per set (9.90) and is third in total assists (208). She also has 195 digs, 24 aces and 84 kills during her breakout rookie season.
Thanks to last week’s three wins, Gustavus’ school-record win streak is at 21 in a row, and the team hasn’t lost since Sept. 4. The Gusties are 21-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 in MIAC matches, with a one-match lead over Saint Mary’s (17-7, 6-1 MIAC). Gustavus has a huge weekend coming up, with a pair of road matches against third- and fourth-place teams Saint Benedict (14-7, 6-2 MIAC) and Concordia (13-8, 5-2 MIAC). The Gusties are at Concordia Friday at 7 p.m. and at Saint Benedict Saturday at 3 p.m.