ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at 7 p.m. Friday as it travels to Northfield, Minn. for a tough road test against Carleton College. The Gusties are riding a 16-match win streak with an overall record of 16-2 and a 5-0 MIAC mark, while the Knights are 11-6 overall and 3-3 in the league.
Live coverage of tomorrow’s match begins at 7 p.m.
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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.
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.
After 18 matches this season, Taylor leads the MIAC with a .382 attack percentage, which also currently stands as the highest attack percentage for a season in Gustavus program history. Taylor also leads the conference in solo blocks (20) and is second in total blocks (65). Holtan leads the Gusties with 458 assists for an average of 7.90 per set (5th/MIAC). On the back line, Luethmers leads the team with 260 digs for an average of 4.33 per set.
As a team, the Gusties are hitting .228 on the attack (3rd/MIAC) and average 2.18 blocks per set (2nd/MIAC).
Carleton is coming off an upset win over No. 22-ranked Saint Benedict on Wednesday as it handed the Blazers their first MIAC loss of the season in four sets 25-19, 22-25, 25-19 and 25-17. The Knights also ended Saint Ben’s 10-match win streak and will look to snap the Gusties’ 16-match streak tomorrow. The win over Saint Ben’s is the Knights’ second victory over a ranked opponent this year as they defeated then No. 19-ranked Augsburg on Sept. 26.
Carleton was buoyed by a season-high 13 service aces in the win over Saint Benedict, including five from Emily Tonogai (Jr., Los Altos, Calif.). Lucy Stevens (So., Portland, Ore.) drove the Carleton offense with 17 kills while adding three service aces. Katherine Miles (So., Park Ridge, Ill.) totaled 12 kills, while Trish Hare (Jr., Northbrook, Ill.) and Faith Skinner (Fy., La Crosse, Wis.) each chipped in 10 kills. Samantha Chao (Sr., Skokie, Ill.) claimed a team-best 44 assists and added three service aces, and Camille Benson (Sr., Savage, Minn.) paced all participants with 39 digs. Benson also added one service ace as well.
After 17 matches this season, Stevens leads the Knights with 268 kills and an average of 4.32 per set (2nd/MIAC). Chao has handled the bulk of the setting duties as she leads the team with 373 assists for an average of 6.91 per set (7th/MIAC). Benson is the league’s top defender with a MIAC-best 435 digs, averaging 7.02 per set, which is more than half a dig per set than the No. 2 player in the conference.