Kate Holtan on the attack. (Photo courtesy of Jake Noel, Gustavus Sports Information)
ST. PETER, Minn. – The No. 11-ranked Gustavus volleyball team earned its second-straight sweep at Gus Young Court Saturday afternoon, taking down St. Catherine University to improve its overall record to 15-3 and 4-1 during Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.
“We just played consistently the whole match,” said Head Coach Rachelle Sherden. “Our passing wasn’t where it usually is, but I thought we did a really good job out of system and the girls were really aggressive.
Gustavus 3, St. Catherine 0: 25-17, 25-11, 25-10 (Box Score)
The Gusties came out strong in the first set against the Wildcats, and seemed to improve throughout the match, highlighted by an impressive .414 attack percentage in the final set. Gustavus limited St. Kate’s to a .038 attack percentage while hitting .320 with 43 kills.
Lauren Hanson (Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn.) led the way for the Black and Gold, hitting efficiently with a .524 attack percentage along with 12 kills and just one error. Kate Holtan (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) followed Hanson with nine kills, hitting .240. Claire Laakso (Sr., Bemidji, Minn.) led the Gusties with five blocks, while Brittany Luethmers (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.) led the defense with 16 digs. In addition, Nora Holtan (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) picked up a double-double with 32 assists and 11 digs.
“Lauren had a really good and turned on our offense, but everybody hit pretty efficiently. I thought our serving was super aggressive and St. Kate’s had a hard time starting anything because of that,” Sherden said.
While the Wildcats were able to hang with the Gusties in the first set, the home team was able to maintain the lead throughout, hitting .297 with a match-high 15 kills.
In the second set, Gustavus began to overmatch St. Kate’s as they grabbed a 14-2 early lead with 11-straight points and held on to its double-digit lead to take a 2-0 lead. Despite claiming its only lead of the match early on in the final frame, the Wildcats were unable to match the Gusties’ pace. The Black and Gold once again jumped out to a double-digit lead and controlled play for the rest of the set.
Gustavus returns to action next Wednesday, heading to Northfield, Minn. to take on St. Olaf College prior to another non-conference tournament over the weekend at Wartburg College.
“It was good to grow as a team this week, it doesn’t matter who we are playing. We grew as a team and responded well after two tough losses last weekend. St. Olaf will be a tough challenge, they’re playing really well and the weekend at Wartburg is another opportunity to face tough teams and a chance to get better,” Sherden concluded.