ST. PETER, Minn. – A 31-year old record stands no longer as the Gustavus volleyball team won its 20th and 21st straight matches Saturday, setting a new program record for consecutive victories. The Gusties defeated both Simpson College and Loras College in straight sets, breaking the previous program record of 20 consecutive wins to start the 1984 season. The Gusties are now 21-2 on the season.
“This team doesn’t worry about the record or the wins or the losses, it’s all about what we are doing right now in the moment to get better,” Head Coach Rachelle Sherden said. “The theme all season has been ‘better than yesterday’ and we say that everyday. We just try to stay in the moment and I truly believe that has helped us. As long as we are getting better everyday we are doing our job.”
Gustavus 3, Simpson 0 | BOX SCORE
The Gusties posted their second highest attack percentage (.413) of the season in the straight-set victory over the Storm. Gustavus won by convincing scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-16.
Individually, Lauren Hanson (Fy., Redwood Falls, Minn.) posted a season-best .542 attack percentage with 14 kills on 24 attempts and just one error. Nora Holtan (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) recorded a double-double with team-highs in assists (28) and digs (11).
The first set was close for the first 11 points as Simpson held a 6-5 lead, but the Gusties responded with seven consecutive points and never relinquished the lead. Gustavus opened the second set with the first point and never trailed in the frame. The Storm tied the score at 6-6, but the Gusties went on a 10-2 run to take a comfortable lead and cruised to a 2-0 match lead. Simpson led early in the third at 3-2, but once again the Gusties took back the momentum with an 8-2 run and held on for the shutout victory.
Gustavus 3, Loras 0 | BOX SCORE
The record-setting win came in shutout fashion as the Gusties beat the Duhawks by scores of 25-12, 29-27 and 25-9.
Hanson and Alyssa Taylor (Sr., Trimont, Minn.) led the offense with 12 kills apiece. Hanson hit at a .414 rate on the kill, while Taylor posted a .375 attack percentage. Holtan distributed 37 assists and dug out 12 attacks for her second double-double of the day. Brittany Luethmers (Fy., Prior Lake, Minn.) led the back line with 20 digs.
The Gusties claimed the first point of the first set and never let go of the lead. Six straight points midway through the set gave Gustavus an 11-4 advantage as it continued to increase its lead en route to the 13-point victory. The second set was a different story as the Duhawks jumped out to a 15-8 lead, forcing a Gustavus timeout. The break boded well for the Gusties as they rattled off six consecutive points and three of the next five to tie the game 17-17. The rest of the set included 10 ties and three lead changes, but it would be Gustavus that took the final lead change and won the set on a pair of Duhawk attack errors. The Gusties rolled their momentum into the third set and won in convincing fashion by 16 points. Gustavus claimed 13 of the first 15 points to set the tone early.
“I thought our team did a really good job today of being discipline, both on defense and in transition and I thought they worked super hard,” Sherden said. “We didn’t take a lot of mental breaks and we were really focused. We focus on our mini games and I didn’t see the other teams go on any long runs. In addition to that I thought we spread our offense really well. We were super aggressive and continued to find holes on the other side, which was important to keep the momentum on our side. I thought we did a really job serving. You’ll see in the stats that we had more errors than aces, but we got the other teams out of system, which definitely helps us.”
Gustavus has a five-day break and then travels to Moorhead, Minn. on Friday for a 7 p.m. match against Concordia College (13-7 overall, 5-2 MIAC).