SAINT PETER, Minn. – Coming off a 2-0 week, the Gustavus volleyball team is looking to win its third straight contest Wednesday when they host No. 19 St. Thomas for a 7 p.m. match. The Gusties enter the contest 10-8 overall and 3-1 in the MIAC while the Tommies are 16-3 overall and 4-0 in conference.
The Series: Wednesday’s contest marks the 57th all-time contest between the two teams with the Tommies leading the series 34-21-1. Last season, the two teams met in St. Paul on Oct. 10 with the Gusties taking a 3-1 victory.
1,000 Kill Club: Kate Holtan (Jr., Rochester) will look to become the 15th member in Gustavus history to enter the 1,000 kill club Wednesday night as the junior currently sits at 997 kills through 81 matches played. The Rochester native also has 789 career digs and is on pace to join Katie Olstad as the second player in Gustavus history to accumulate 1,000 career kills and digs.
Scouting the Gusties: Gustavus is most recently coming off a 3-1 win over Hamline Saturday. Through 18 matches, Holtan leads the team with 222 kills, averaging 3.36 per set, which is good for fourth in the conference. Kaylyn Johnston (Fy., Urbana, Ill.) and Mitaya Johnson (Sr., Kasson) have split setting duties this season with Johnston averaging 6.15 assists per set, while Johnson averages 4.33. In the back row Hailey Embacher (Jr., Mankato) leads the team with 316 digs this season for an average of 4.86 digs per set. In the team’s past two contests, the Gusties have set their season-high for kills in both games, notching 58 against St. Catherine Wednesday before one-upping that with a 64-kill performance on Saturday at Hamline.
Scouting the Tommies: St. Thomas, winners of five straight, comes into the contest most recently defeating Carleton Saturday 3-0. Through 19 matches this season, The Tommies have five players who have all posted 140+ kills with Fran Egan leading the way with 189. Grace Anetipa has been the team’s primary setter with 692 assists, while Ellie Meyer anchors the back line with 347 digs. As a team this season, the Tommies have been very effective on the attack, ,averaging 13.49 kills per set, which ranks second in the conference. On defense, the Tommies have just 64 reception errors this season, which is also second best in the conference.