St. Paul – The Gustavus volleyball used its best offensive performance of the season to cruise to a 3-0 sweep over St. Catherine University on Wednesday night in the Butler Center. The Gusties defeated the Wildcats by set scores of 25-22, 25-23, and 25-19 on the way to their third MIAC victory over the last four league matches. With the win, Gustavus improves to 10-17 overall and 4-6 in the MIAC, while St. Kate’s drops to 13-17 overall and 3-7 in the MIAC.
Leading Gustavus’ efficient offensive attack this evening was rookie Lauren Schlobohm (Faribault, Minn.) who has consistently been the to-go attacker down the backstretch of the regular season. Schlobohm led the Gusties once again, recording 11 kills (.154), while fellow rookie Kelle Nett (Spring Valley, Ill.) and senior Emily Phillips (Cleveland, Minn.) followed closely behind with nine and eight kills, respectively.
The Gusties grabbed an early 4-0 lead in the opening set and didn’t look back. After leading by six points (17-11) at one point, St. Kate’s would bring the score to within two on several occasions late. Gustavus was able to fight off the comeback and pick up a 25-22 win after Schlobohm recorded the final kill.
It was Gustavus faced with the early deficit in set two, going down by five points on two occasions (10-5, 13-8). The Wildcats held on to the advantage until a Kelle Nett kill late in the match triggered a five point swing that saw Gustavus on top 21-20. After St. Kate’s tied the match at 21-21, Gustavus scored three straight points (24-21) before Nett finally put the frame in the books with a kill, giving Gustavus a 2-0 lead in the match following a 25-23 win.
With a 5-3 lead in the third, Gustavus used its best run of the night to go up 16-4. Gustavus scored 11-of-12 points inside the run, as Becca Woodstra (Fy., Minnetonka, Minn.) served seven straight points inside the streak. The Wildcats brought the score to within five at 20-15, yet could not make up the difference, as Gustavus went on to a 25-19 victory to claim the match.
Paige Breneman (So., Sherburn, Minn.) led the Gustie defense with 18 digs, while Taylor Meurer (So., Nicollet, Minn.) and Kendra Weege (So., Watertown, Minn.) both distributed 16 assists.
The Gustavus volleyball team will hit the road one last time as it travels to Winona, Minn. to take on Saint Mary’s in the season finale at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27.