SAINT PETER, Minn. - No. 18 Gustavus volleyball cruised to another straight set victory on Saturday night, beating Bethel 3-0 to claim its third consecutive MIAC regular season championship. The Gusties also secured the No. 1 seed for the MIAC postseason tournament at 10-0 in the league and 22-6 overall. The Gusties have now won 34 consecutive matches against conference opponents, including playoffs.
Lauren Klaith was the story of the game, connecting on her first eight attacks and finishing the night with 15 kills on 23 attacks with just one error for a .609 hitting percentage.
After falling behind 4-1 in the first set, the Gusties eventually took a 12-10 lead and never trailed the rest of the set in a 25-19 decision. The Gusties rolled their momentum into the second with a quick 7-0 advantage with
Kasie Tweet on the serve and held off a late Bethel rally for a 25-18 win. The Royals held the early advantage in the third at 7-3, but once again the Gusties fought back to take a 18-14 lead after an 8-1 run and went on to win 25-22.
Behind Klaith,
Sydney Olson finished with nine kills. Tweet had 38 assists while
Marlee Turn,
Mayssa Tweet, and
Maren Sundberg each finished with 11 digs.
Gustavus hit .313 on the attack and limited the Royals to a .153 clip.
The Gusties finish the regular season Friday night at St. Catherine.
