Winona, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss to Saint Mary’s University in its regular season finale on Saturday in the SMU Gym. Looking to move up in the MIAC Playoff seedings with a victory, the Cardinals did just that, cruising to the sweep via set scores of 25-20, 25-21, and 25-14.
Despite the loss, Gustavus still earned a spot in the MIAC Playoffs and will enter the postseason as the No. 6 seed after going 5-6 in conference play. With the win, Saint Mary’s capped the MIAC regular season with a record of 7-4 and will head into the playoffs the No. 4 seed. Gustavus is now 11-14 overall, while the Cardinals are 19-12.
Gustavus middle hitter Taylor Trautman (So., Hutchinson, Minn.) led the way at the net with eight kills and a .412 hitting percentage. As a team, Gustavus hit .150 with a total of 29 kills.
Mary Nordick of Saint Mary’s led all offensive players with 10 kills and .250 attack rate. The Cardinals hit .155 as a team and registered 38 kills.
Marisa Morgan (Fy., Rockford, Ill.) handled the setting and finished with 25 assists. The Cardinals used by Brittney Hanson and Mayler MacVey to set. Hanson distributed 13 assists, while MacVey had 12.
Defensively, the Gusties finished with 45 digs compared to Saint Mary’s 52. Lex Krogstad led all back row players with 18 digs, while Abby Leitch (Fy., Mankato, Minn.) paced the Gusties with 14.
Making their first appearance in the MIAC Playoffs since 2011, Gustavus will travel to St. Joseph, Minnesota for a quarterfinal showdown against the College of Saint Benedict on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The Gusties and Blazers will square off at 7:00 p.m.