NEW ULM, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team extended it win streak to 15 matches Tuesday as it beat Martin Luther College 3-1 in non-conference action. The Gusties won by set scores of 25-16, 25-19, 28-30 and 25-18 to improve to 15-2 overall on season. The 15-match win streak by the Gusties is now the second longest in program history.
Alyssa Taylor (Sr., Trimont, Minn.) led the way for the Gusties as she posted a season-high 22 kills on 37 attempts and two errors for a .541 attack percentage, which is also a season best. Taylor’s 22 kills are the second most in her career. Nora Holtan (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) made her mark in the stat line as well with a season-high 46 assists.
“Alyssa was on fire and couldn’t be stopped,” Head Coach Rachelle Sherden said. “At first we didn’t really follow our game plan, but then when Nora started pumping our tempo and mixing it up and being smart at the net, she really helped get our groove back on offense.”
Gustavus and Martin Luther both strung together a few scoring sprees early in the first set resulting in a 10-10 tie. But the Gusties took a comfortable lead by going on an 11-3 run en route to the nine-point victory. Gustavus attacked at a .265 clip in the first set compared to a .062 mark by the Knights.
To begin the second set, the Gusties had to play catch-up as Martin Luther jumped out to a 13-8 lead to force a timeout called by Sherden. Her squad responded by going on a 9-3 run to take a 17-16 advantage. The Knights regained the lead twice at 18-17 and 19-18, but the Gusties claimed the final six points for the win. The Gusties posted a .412 attack percentage in the set.
The third set proved to be a true back and forth battle as the two teams totaled 13 ties and six lead changes throughout the 58-volley set. The Knights held the largest lead of the set at 17-12 after a Gustavus timeout, but the Gusties battled back to take a 19-18 advantage. The two teams traded points for the remainder of the set until the Knights closed it out on a pair of kills for their 29th and 30th points.
Gustavus flip-flopped the momentum to start the fourth set as it quickly took an 8-3 lead. The Knights would get within two points of the lead at 10-8, but that was the closest margin as the Gusties went on to win by seven.
“We had slow starts to the sets and too many missed serves,” Sherden said. “We made a few adjustments in set four with our tempo on offense and blocked better. Martin Luther fought super tough and were very scrappy on defense and aggressive on offense.”
The Gusties tallied 62 kills throughout the match, which is the most recorded this season. Their 57 assists are also a season high. Libero Brittany Luethmers (Fy., Prior Lake, Minn.) once again led the Black and Gold on the back line with 19 digs. Along with Taylor’s offensive outburst, Sammy Kremer (So., Lakeville, Minn.) also reached double figure kills with 10 on 18 attempts and two errors for a .444 attack percentage. As a team, the Gusties went .307 (62-16-150) on the attack.
Gustavus has a quick turnaround as it travels to Waldorf College for a 7 p.m. non-conference match tomorrow in Forest City, Iowa.