STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The No. 20 ranked Gustavus volleyball team wrapped up day two of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Tournament with two wins of UW-Stevens Point and Edgewood College, improving its record to 7-1 overall on the season.
“The team came back and grinded after a long five-set match last night,” said Head Coach Rachelle Sherden.
Gustavus vs. UW-Stevens Point: 11-25, 25-12, 25-10, 25-20
After falling 25-11 in the first set against the Pointers, the Gusties came back and won three sets in convincing fashion.
Gustavus posted a .212 attack percentage, compared to a .109 mark from UW-Stevens Point, while also holding a 83-79 advantage in digs and a 44-28 assist advantage.
The Holtan sister duo each recorded double-doubles, Kate Holtan (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) tying her season-high kill mark from last match with 12 and notched a season-best 10 digs. Nora Holtan (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) tallied 35 assists and picked up 15 digs to post her third double-double of the season.
Lauren Hanson (Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn.) also totaled 12 kills and hit .290, while Shaefer Rupar (Sr., Merrill, Wis.) contributed seven kills and hit a team-best .315 to lead the Gustie attack. Brittany Luethmers (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.) gathered a season-high 26 digs.
Following the Pointers’ 1-0 lead, Gustavus took control and maintained leads in each of the next three sets to secure the 3-1 victory.
Gustavus vs. Edgewood: 25-13, 26-24, 25-20
The Gusties took their momentum into game two, taking the first set against Edgewood 25-13. Gustavus hit .235 and totaled 12 kills in set one while limiting the Eagles to a .000 attack percentage.
In set two, Edgewood made things interesting. The Gusties held the advantage for most of the set until the Eagles battled back. Down 14-19, Edgewood took six-straight points to tie the game at 20-20. However, Gustavus claimed the last four points to take the set 26-24.
The final set was even up until the end in which the Black and Gold took over, closing out the match with seven consecutive points.
Gustavus hit at a rate of .235, totaling 38 kills and 14 errors on 102 attempts. Hanna Albers (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) led the team with 10 kills while Sam Haugen (Jr., Becker, Minn.) hit .444 with six kills, and Rupar hitting .312 with seven kills. N. Holtan added 22 assists while Luethmers compiled 18 digs.
Nora Holtan and Luethmers earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
“We started out slow against UW-Stevens Point and then found our groove in set two, and kept pressing the rest of the match. Our blocking and digging slowed down the momentum of a UWSP strong offensive attack. Our serving, especially Abby Leitch’s (Sr., Mankato, Minn.), got them out of system to help us run a strong counter attack. Brittany (Luethmers) was lights out in the back row today and Shaefer (Rupar) and Hanson stepped up big on offense,” Sherden said.
Gustavus returns to action on Wednesday as they head into Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action. The Gusties will matchup against Hamline University at 7 p.m. in St. Paul.