WHITEWATER, Wis. – The Gustavus volleyball team competed in their final two contests at the UW-Whitewater and fell to UW-La Crosse 3-2 before losing their second contest to UW-Stevens Point 3-1. With the losses the Gusties move to 10-12 overall on the season.
In the first set the Gusties seemed to have a ton of control, working their way to a 19-14 lead. The Eagles would even things at 19 before a four point Gustavus run would put them back in charge. La Crosse would score three straight to put Gustavus’s lead at 23-22 before the Gusties got a point back to get to set point. The Eagles then scored four straight points and were able to take the set.
After La Crosse got out to a 6-2 lead early in set two, the rest of it was all Gustavus as they took the set 25-13 in dominant fashion. Set three then played fairly even to start, but the Eagles started to pull away late to take the set 25-19 and take a 2-1 match lead.
Set four, like set two, was all Gustavus as the Black and Gold used a six point run in the middle of the frame to gain advantage and take the set 25-16 and force a fifth.
The Gusties jumped out to a 4-2 lead but the Eagles answered, scoring nine of the next 11 points to take an 11-6 lead. The Gusties would rally for three straight points to bring the score to 11-9, but La Crosse scored four straight to take the set and match.
Kate Holtan (Jr., Rochester) led the Gusties in the match with 22 kills, while Rhyan Herrmann (Fy., Browntwon) had 15. Mitaya Johnson (Sr., Kasson) notched 26 set assists in the match while Kaylyn Johnston (Fy., Urbana, Ill.) had 23. Hailey Embacher (Jr., Mankato) led the back line with 31 digs while Holtan added 21 for a double-double.
UW-Stevens Point 3 – 1 Gustavus
The Pointers scored the first five points of set one to get out of the gates quickly. The Gusties responded, trimming the deficit to 10-9. Stevens Point scored 10 of the next 14 points to take control of the set and eventually put it away at 25-19.
Set two got off to a fairly even start with the teams being knotted up at nine near the midpoint of the set. The Gusties took five of the next six points to take control of the set and they would continue to sustain their lead, taking the set 25-21.
With the match tied 1-1, the teams played to an 14-14 start to the third set before the Gusties went on a mini-run to go up 17-15. The Pointers took over at the end of the set, notching 10 of the final 12 points to take the set 25-19.
In set four, Stevens Point got out to a quick 8-6 lead, but Gustavus was able to keep it close, tying it at 12 midway through the set. From there the Pointers caught fire, scoring 10 of the next 13 points to go up 22-15, before taking the set 25-19.
Holtan led the Gusties again with 21 kills, while Herrmann had 14. Johnston led the Gusties with 27 assists in the contest while Johnson notched her second consecutive 26 assist match. Embacher led the back row again with 29 digs while three other Gusties had at least 10.
Kate Holtan was named to the Dig Panici Classic All-Tournament team as she posted 55 kills and 44 digs in 12 sets.
Gustavus will be back in action on Wednesday when they head to Carleton for a 7 p.m. match.