Volleyball’s NCAA Run Ends At Elite 8

BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY | POST-MATCH INTERVIEW

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Gustavus volleyball team’s memorable NCAA tournament run came to end Thursday in the national quarterfinals, losing in four sets to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Gusties won the first set convincingly 25-16, but dropped the next three 25-17, 25-16, and 25-14 to end their season with a 26-7 overall record.

The Gusties started the opening set on a high, jumping out to a 4-1 lead and never trailed. CMS was able to tie the score at 6-6, but the Gusties responded with an 8-2 run to force a timeout. The Athenas got within three points at 17-14, but again the Gusties answered with six-straight points and cruised to a nine-point first set decision. Gustavus hit at an efficient .390 rate in the first set and held the Athenas to a .154 clip.

Gustavus rolled its momentum into the start of the second set with an early 5-3 advantage, but that’s when CMS took control, going on a 13-3 spree, forcing two Gustavus timeouts in that time. The Black and Gold ensued with a 7-3 run, but it was too little, too late as the Athenas won by eight points.

The third set was controlled by CMS from the onset as it started with an 11-2 advantage as Gustavus burned both of its timeouts. The Gusties put together a small comeback effort late in the frame with a run of three points, but again it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.

With their backs against the wall and season on the line, the Gusties went back-and-forth with the Athenas to start the fourth and trailed by one point after seven volleys, but that was followed by a 6-1 CMS run that provided enough of a cushion for the No. 3 seed to finish out the set and the match on top.

Hanna Albers (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) led the offense with 12 kills and posted 11 digs for a double-double. Nora Holtan (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) distributed 33 assists and was one dig shy of a double-double. Brittany Luethmers (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.) was the defensive leader with 26 digs. The Gusties hit a pedestrian .099 on the attack, while the Athenas hit at .205. CMS also blocked 15 attacks, compared to six blocks by the Gusties.