SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team hosted Senior Night on Wednesday as they took on Macalester and defeated the Scots 3-0. With the win the Gusties move to 13-14 overall and 6-4 in the MIAC while Macalester falls to 4-20 and 0-10 in the conference.
“With a smaller senior class and a large underclassmen group there are different challenges but Mitaya and Ella have done a really good job of setting the tone in the gym, as they bring positive energy every day and are leaders for the underclassmen,” said Head Coach Rachelle Sherden. “Those two have always been like that over the last four years and they’re both very selfless players and teammates and they’ve done a great job for us. It was really fun to have them both on the court together tonight and they both did really well.”
The Gusties controlled the match for the majority and it started in set one. Gustavus was solid all-around in the set as they dominated from start to finish as they coasted to a 25-7 set win as they hit .409 in the set.
Macalester was able to jump out to a 9-6 lead early in set two but Gustavus was able to respond. The Gusties took over in the middle of the set, working their way to 22-13 lead. The Scots were able to rally late to bring the score with five at 24-19, but an Ella Johnson (Sr., Paynesville) kill ended the set.
Set three played even to start as the teams were tied at six early. The Gusties used the middle of the set to gain control again, as they went on a 16-5 run to go up 22-11. The Scots scored three straight, but Gustavus took three of the last four points to take the win 25-15.
In the match Kate Holtan (Jr., Rochester) led all attackers with 16 kills while Sydney Olson (Fy., Willmar) and Sarah Elliott (Fy., Lombard, Ill.) added seven and six, respectively. Mitaya Johnson (Sr., Kasson) and Nora Lehmkuhl (Fy., Northfield) split the setting duties in the match as they had 15 assists apiece. Hailey Embacher (Jr., Mankato) led the back row with 16 digs, while Holtan added 12 for a double-double.
On the match, coach Sherden said, “Our team had a few things we were focusing on for our game plan and they did a great job of executing that tonight. I thought the team overall did a good job of controlling what we could control and our side-out percentage was really high as we didn’t allow them to go on any big runs.”
The Gusties are next in action on Saturday as they host Saint Mary’s in the regular season finale at 3 p.m.