WAVERLY, Iowa – The No. 11-ranked Gustavus volleyball team earned two more wins during the final day of the Wartburg College Invitational on Saturday, defeating Wartburg College 3-1 and Luther College 3-0.
Gustavus 3, Wartburg 1: 23-25, 29-27, 25-21, 25-23 (Box Score)
Just like yesterday evening, the Gusties dropped the first set prior to coming back and taking the next three sets for the win. Gustavus hit .225 with 63 kills on 191 attempts, while tallying a season-high 13 total team blocks.
Hanna Albers (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) led the Black and Gold attack, tying a career-high with 21 kills on 56 attempts to post a .304 attack percentage. Kate Holtan (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) picked up her third double-double of 2017 with a season-high 16 digs to go along with 16 kills. Nora Holtan (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) set up the offense with a double-double clip of 52 assists and 14 digs, while hitting efficiently at .412 with seven kills and zero errors. Brittany Luethmers (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.) guided the defense with 22 digs while Claire Laakso (Sr., Bemidji, Minn.) added a career-high six blocks.
After jumping out to a 8-2 lead in the first frame, the Gusties allowed the Knights to go on a 15-8 run and found themselves trailing 17-16. Warburg held on while the both teams went back and worth to take a 1-0 lead.
An even see-saw set second set saw the Gusties tally 19 kills compared to 18 from the Knights. The lead changed six times throughout the set while Gustavus closed out the set with three-straight points, winning 29-27.
The Gusties carried momentum into the third and fourth sets. Led by strong starts in each set, Gustavus completed the comeback totaling 31 kills compared to 27 from the Knights to seal the win.
Gustavus 3, Luther 0: 28-26, 25-19, 25-14 (Box Score)
After a competitive first set, the Gusties took control and took down the Norse to finish their 15th sweep of the season.
Both teams were strong on the attack in the first frame, each tallying 21 kills and just three errors. Luther hit .353 while Gustavus posted a .333 attack percentage. With the score tied at 8-8 to start the second set, the Black and Gold then went on a 17-11 run to go up 2-0.
The Gusties were most efficient in the third set, hitting at a rate of .455 with 18 kills on 33 attempts, while limiting the Norse to just eight kills and an attack percentage of .139.
Kate Holtan, Shaefer Rupar (Sr., Merrill, Wis.), and Lauren Hanson (Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn.) combined to lead the Gustavus offense, notching 12, 10, and nine kills respectively. Nora Holtan added 41 assists while Luethmers registered 16 digs.
Nora Holtan and Brittany Luethmers earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
“The Gusties played their game this weekend and fought hard and gritty in all three matches against very strong opponents,” said Head Coach Rachelle Sherden. “I thought overall our defense did a good job of making adjustments against opponent attackers. Our attackers read the court well and stayed aggressive to expose weaknesses in the opponent’s defense. Our serve receive was solid and our serve stepped up a notch and continues to be an asset to our game. We look forward to growing our game in practice and competition this week.”
The Gusties, now 19-3 overall, have earned six consecutive victories and head back into Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Play on Wednesday, hosting the University of St. Thomas. The Gusties and the Tommies are set to play at 7 p.m. during Cancer Awareness Night at Gus Young Court.