SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team is set to host its first home conference match of the season Thursday when St. Olaf comes to town for a 7 p.m. contest. The Gusties enter the contest 7-7 overall and 0-1 in the MIAC while the Oles are 14-2 overall and 0-1 in conference.
The Series: Thursday’s contest marks the 66th contest between the Gusties and Oles with St. Olaf holding a 34-30-1 advantage. Last season, the two teams met on Oct. 4, in St. Peter with the Gusties taking a 3-0 victory.
Last Time Out: Gustavus is most recently coming off a 3-2 five-set loss to Augsburg on Friday. The Gusties dropped the first two sets before making a comeback and forcing a fifth set. In the final set, the Gusties fell behind early and couldn’t overcome the deficit as they fell 15-11. Kate Holtan (Jr., Rochester) led the attack for the Gusties with 16 kills while Sarah Elliott (Fy., Lombard, Ill.) had 12. Kaylyn Johnston (Fy., Urbana, Ill.) had 28 set assists while Mitaya Johnson (Sr., Kasson) had 17. Hailey Embacher (Jr., Mankato) anchored the defense with 26 digs while Johnston had 13.
Scouting the Gusties: Through 14 matches, Gustavus is led by Holtan who ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 3.22 kills per set. First-years Elliott and Rhyan Herrmann (Fy., Brownton) have been big contributors this year totaling 113 and 95 kills, respectively. Johnston and Johnson have been the teams two primary setters, with Johnston averaging 6.31 assists per set, and Johnson averaging 4.03. Embacher has anchored the back row with 231 digs.
Scouting the Oles: St. Olaf comes into the contest most recently going 3-0 this past weekend at the Mabel Lee Invite. Through 16 contests, St. Olaf is led by Lauren Rewers with 199 kills, which ranks second in the MIAC, while her kills per set average of 3.21 ranks sixth. Summer Reid, Katelyn Lannom, and Morgan Marxer have all tallied at least 150 kills for the Oles with Lannom hitting the highest percentage of the bunch at .331. Lexie Wall, the teams setter, currently ranks third in Division III with 11.19 assists per set while her 705 total assists top the nation.