WINONA, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team won over St. Mary’s in straight sets with scores of 25-15, 25-16, and 25-21. With the victory Gustavus claims the MIAC regular season championship with the Royals following an overall record of 24-5 and a conference mark of 10-1. The Gusties have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Bethel as the No. 1 seed in the MIAC playoffs.
The Gusties climbed to a 14-7 lead before a Saint Mary’s timeout. Gustavus maintained the seven point advantage while the trio of Sarah Elliott (Jr., Lombard, Ill.), Courtney Peterson (Jr., Jamestown, N.D.), and Sydney Olson (Jr., Willmar) each hit .750 to win set one 25-15.
In set two both teams went shot for shot tied at 11-11. A pair of attack errors from the Cardinals, consistent serving from Kylee Cox (Sr., Brooklyn Center), and kills from Elliott and Marlee Turn (So., Kennedy) leveraged the Gusties to a 14-5 run in a 16-25 second set.
Gustavus got out to an early 11-3 lead in the third set before the Cardinals rallied in a 12-5 run to try to cut into the match deficit. Kasie Tweet (So., Adrian), Olson, and Kate Holtan (Sr., Rochester) added kills to keep the Gusties ahead but three straight kills from Peterson proved solid for the straight set finish.
Elliott led the team with eleven kills while Holtan added on ten of her own. Hailey Embacher (Sr., Mankato) recorded ten digs and Tweet dished out 36 assists. Additionally, newcomer Brynn Smith (Fy., Brooklyn Park) finished the night with three service aces.
The Gusties next compete in the MIAC Semifinal against the lowest remaining seed from the MIAC Quarterfinal on Friday.
nice season so far keep it going