SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The No. 11 Gustavus volleyball team extended its winning streak to 11 with a four-set victory at St. Thomas on Wednesday night. The Gusties won 25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22 to improve to 19-2 overall and 7-0 in the MIAC. St. Thomas falls to 16-7 overall and 5-2 in the league.
Hanna Albers (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) was the go-to attacker with a season-high 18 kills and a .395 hitting percentage. Lauren Hanson (Sr., Redwood Falls, Minn.) continued to be a big contributor as well with 13 kills. Nora Holtan (Sr., Rochester, Minn.) distributed 40 assists and Brittany Luethmers (Sr., Prior Lake, Minn.) dug out 30 attacks, marking her seventh career 30-dig match and first of the season.
“We weren’t the most efficient with our attack tonight but the defense was stellar,” Head Coach Rachelle Sherden said. “Hanna came up big for us in a key match with her best attacking performance of the season.”
The first set started out back and forth before the Gusties went on a 7-2 run to force a Tommie timeout at 13-9. Gustavus continued to put on the pressure and didn’t allow the home team to come within four points the rest of the way.
Gustavus was forced to take a timeout in the second set trailing 11-8 and came out of the break strong, going on a 12-3 run and finishing off the frame. St. Thomas controlled the third set from the beginning, jumping out to a 9-4 lead and never looked back.
The fourth set ebbed and flowed for both teams. Five straight points by the Gusties was answered by six consecutive by the Tommies, followed by a 7-1 Gustavus run that gave it the lead for good.
Gustavus next plays two matches at the St. Catherine tournament Saturday – 1 p.m. against UC-Santa Cruz and 3 p.m. against Luther.
Great job Gusties and a shout-out from St Louis, Mo. Great job Hanna!!