SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The No. 25 nationally ranked Gusties traveled to St. Catherine for a Wednesday night contest for a conference match where Gustavus took a 3-0 win over St. Catherine. With the win, the Gusties improve to 19-4 and 6-1 in the MIAC.
The Wildcats put up a tough battle up against the Gusties early into the first set, but Gustavus climbed to a 13-6 lead before a St. Catherine timeout. The Gusties took set one in a convincing 25-12 finish while Kate Holtan (Sr., Rochester) hit .778 and Marlee Turn (So., Kennedy) dished out six digs in the process.
Both teams put on a defensive show tying it at 10-10 in set two, Gustavus took two point chases that St. Catherine continued to catch up to. With a 23-23 timeout, Kylee Cox (Sr., Brooklyn Center) made a diving defensive play to keep the Gusties alive before Sydney Olson (Jr., Willmar) made what looked to be the set winning kill before it was overturned by the up referee. A final Wildcat attack error helped Gustavus take the second set in a gritty 26-24 finish.
St. Catherine took a 3-1 start in the final set before the Gusties answered back with a 6-2 run. The challenge proved to be too much for the Wildcats as Gustavus completed the sweep with a final set score of 25-17.
Holtan had a team high 17 kills and 12 digs while Olson and Courtney Peterson (Jr., Jamestown, N.D.) each recorded ten digs as well. Hailey Embacher (Sr., Mankato) dished out 16 digs and Kasie Tweet (So., Adrian) hit 40 assists.
The Gusties are next in action when they compete in a triangular against Loras at 5:00 p.m. and Northwestern at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.