ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team won its fifth straight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match Saturday afternoon, defeating Saint Benedict in four sets 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-15, improving to 20-6 overall and 8-1 in the league.
“For the most part, I thought that we were in the driver’s seat with our momentum,” Head Coach Rachelle Sherden said. “We did a good job of getting them out of system, which is important because they want to push their middles and right side a lot. We were slow with our blocking to start but picked it up at the end and that slowed them down. Our offense was really well spread out and dynamic. There was a lot of back and forth, long rallies, and I thought we did a good job in transition, especially after playing five sets the night before.”
The Gustie offense was well spread out, led by Taylor Trautman (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.) and Lauren Hanson (So., Redwood Falls, Minn.) with 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Trautman posted an impressive .444 attack percentage while Sam Haugen (So., Becker, Minn.) was also efficient on the attack with a .389 clip on eight kills and one error. Nora Holtan (So., Rochester, Minn.) was all over the court, registering 42 assists, nine kills, and eight digs, to go along with an impressive .471 attack percentage. As she has been all season, Brittany Luethmers (So., Prior Lake, Minn.) was the constant on the back line with a team-high 16 digs.
Gustavus took control of the first set from the onset, claiming the first point and never tailing the rest of the way. Saint Ben’s used five straight points to come within one point of the lead, but a Gustavus timeout led to a shift of momentum back in the home team’s favor as the Gusties slowly pulled away for a four-point victory.
After the Blazers took a 5-4 lead early in the second game, the two teams kept within two points of each other the rest of the way. The set included 17 ties and eight lead changes in a true back and forth battle. The last lead change was in Gustavus’s favor at 24-23 and a service ace by Trautman sealed the second set victory.
The Blazers took the early momentum in the third set with a 7-2 lead, forcing a Gustavus timeout. The Gusties responded out the break with a 6-1 run, tying the game at 8-8. Saint Ben’s responded with a 4-1 run and never trailed the rest of the way, staying alive and forcing a fourth set.
Gustavus bounced back in the fourth in convincing fashion, taking a 13-3 lead and cruised to a 10-point win.
The Gusties will finish the regular season with two matches on the road. They face Hamline at 7 p.m. Wednesday and then wrap up league play next Saturday at Saint Mary’s. Gustavus has clinched a playoff spot, but is still battling for seeding as it currently holds on to the No. 2 spot behind Augsburg.