FOREST CITY, Iowa – After a slow start Wednesday night, the Gustavus volleyball team rebounded from a first set loss and claimed the next three for a 3-1 win over Waldorf College. The Gusties won by set scores of 20-25, 25-23, 25-10 and 31-29 to improve to 16-2 and extend their already impressive win streak to 16 matches.
Three Gusties reached double figure kills, led by Lauren Hanson (Fy., Redwood Falls, Minn.) with 16. Alyssa Taylor (Sr., Trimont, Minn.) and Becca Woodstra (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.) posted 13 and 10 kills, respectively, while Nora Holtan (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) tallied a season-high 51 assists. Holtan also contributed 15 digs for a double-double. Brittany Luethmers (Fy., Prior Lake, Minn.) led the defense with 26 digs.
“Waldorf is another super scrappy defensive team and they ran a fast tempo offense,” Head Coach Rachelle Sherden said. “For us we were slow out of the gates and then really started to play our game in the second and third. The fourth set was close and really fun to watch both teams battle. These past two matches were great opportunities for us to compete and get pushed and grow as a team.”
Waldorf ran out to an early 5-1 lead in the first set and never let go of the advantage. The Gusties put a run together to come within two points at 6-4, but the Warriors then extended their lead to as much as 10 points at 22-12. Gustavus wouldn’t go down easily, though, as it climbed back with an 8-2 run to make it 24-20, but the Warriors benefitted from an attack error to claim the win.
The second set was closely contested the whole way through with 10 ties and five lead changes. Trailing 22-18 late in the set, Sherden called a timeout and her squad responded well by taking seven of the final eight points for the comeback victory.
The Gusties rolled their momentum into the third game and took an early 9-3 lead. Midway through the set, Gustavus scored seven straight points and then finished it off for a convincing 15-point win.
In the fourth set, Gustavus tallied four consecutive points midway through for a 14-9 lead and forced a Waldorf timeout. The Warriors took advantage of the break and eventually took the lead at 21-20. Gustavus answered with a 4-1 run to hold set-point at 24-22, but once again the Warriors responded and took the next two points to tie it up. For the next nine volleys the two squads played within one point of each other leading to a 29-28 lead for Waldorf. A kill by Hanson tied the game, another kill by Kelle Nett (Spring Valley, Ill.) took the lead, and Taylor Trautman (Jr., Hutchinson, Minn.) put the stamp on the victory with the game-winning kill.
Gustavus returns to conference play at 7 p.m. Friday at Carleton College.