UPDATE: Gustavus vs. Calvin pushed back to a 5 p.m. start.

SAINT PETER, Minn. —  The NCAA released its 2023 NCAA Volleyball Tournament bracket on Monday, Nov. 13, and the Gusties, as the MIAC's automatic qualifier, are set to face Calvin (22-7) in the first round of the regional bracket hosted by UW-Oshkosh. The winner of Gustavus vs. Calvin will face the winner of UW-Oshkosh (34-1) and Greenville (23-10) on Friday. The bottom half of the eight-team regional includes Otterbein (23-8), La Verne (23-4), North Park (25-6), and East Texas Baptist (25-3) with the regional championship to be played Saturday. 

TICKET INFORMATION

The match will be played at Oshkosh's Kolf Sports Center. Ticket prices, per UW-Oshkosh, are listed below. Tickets can be purchased with cash only. The ticket window will open one hour before the first match of each day and remain open until after the final match of the day begins. 

Single-session (one-day): 

• Adults: $10
• Senior Citizens/Veterans: $8
• Student (with ID): $6
• Children under 12: $5
• Child <2 years:="" free="">

All-session (all three days): 

• Adults: $20
• Senior Citizens/Veterans: $12
• Student (with ID): $12
• Children under 12: $8
• Child <2 years:="" free="">

GUSTIES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

The Gusties will make their 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament Thursday, and third in a row. Last season, the Gusties advanced to the tournament's second round with a win over then-reigning national champions UW-Eau Claire, but fell in the second round to regional host UW-Whitewater, 3-1. The team's farthest postseason run came in the 2017 season, advancing to the Elite Eight. The Gustavus volleyball program owns an all-time record of 8-11 in the national tournament.

THE SERIES

Thursday's match marks the first all-time meeting between Gustavus and Calvin on the volleyball court. 

LAST ACTION

In one of the most entertaining volleyball matches in recent history, Gustavus outlasted St. Olaf in five sets last Saturday to claim its third consecutive MIAC playoff championship. Two of the sets went to extras, highlighted by an epic 17-15 fifth set victory for the Gusties, sending them to the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in the past eight seasons. 

Lauren Klaith, who came up with two major kills at the end of the fifth set, posted a career-high 22 kills after being set 64 times. Kasie Tweet had a career night as well with 55 assists, directing the Gusties to a .169 attack rate with 66 team kills. Maren Sundberg led the defensive effort with 35 digs, also a career high. 

St. Olaf came out of the gate firing with a 7-1 lead in the first set. It took a while for the Gusties to get going but they did midway through the set with a 9-1 run to take a 14-13 advantage. After trailing 18-14, the Oles fought back to tie the score 20-20 but they followed with three attack errors and then Klaith and Sydney Olson put the set away 25-20 with a pair of kills. 

The second set featured four lead changes but the last came on a eight-point run by the Oles for an 18-13 lead. St. Olaf then held on for a 25-20 victory. The third frame set the tone for the rest of the match in a classic back and forth battle. Gustavus held a 23-20 lead after an Ole attack error, but the visitors rattled off four straight points and held set-point at 24-23. Gustavus fought off three set-points by the Oles at 24-23, 25-24, and 26-25 before Klaith connected on a pair of kills followed by a Mayssa Tweet ace to close it out 29-27. 

St. Olaf quickly bounced back in the fourth with an early 7-2 lead. The Gusties crawled back to get within one point on six different occasions, but couldn't get over the hump as the Oles won 25-21 to force a fifth set.

The fifth set was one for the ages and won't soon be forgotten by anyone involved. After trading points early in the set, St. Olaf rattled off three straight for an 8-4 lead as the team's switched sides. Not to be denied in what could be her final home game at Gus Young Court, Marlee Turn hammered down three straight kills to tie it 8-8. After an Ole kill, Turn again found the other side of the court for a kill at 9-9. The Oles answered with three straight to gain a 12-9 advantage, but again, the Gusties punched back with three straight of their own, which included another kill from Turn and two Ole attack errors. After a Gustie service error gave the Oles a 13-12 lead, Turn once again came up clutch with her sixth kill of the set to tie it at 13-13. An Ole kill on the ensuing rally gave them set-point, but Klaith answered with a kill to tie it at 14-14. St. Olaf fended off match-point to tie it 15-15, but Klaith answered with an emphatic kill and then an Ole attack error ended it at 17-15. 

SCOUTING THE GUSTIES

The Gusties boast a record of 25-6 heading into Thursday's match. Last week's wins over St. Olaf and St. Catherine in the MIAC playoffs extended the Gusties' winning streak to eight straight, with their last loss coming at the hands of Carthage on Oct. 14. The Gusties are averaging 13.1 kills per set with a team hitting percent of 0.216, compared to a 0.139 mark of their opponents. The one-two punch of Lauren Klaith and Marlee Turn has helped the team maintain a consistent offense. Klaith has 372 kills this season (3.32/set) while Turn has 361 (3.31/set). Madi Kes leads the team's primary attackers with an individual attacking percent of 0.273. Kasie Tweet has directed traffic for the team this season, helping the Gusties to a mark of 11.9 assists per set, which ranks 26th in the country. Her 1153 season assists are top-10 in the nation. Sydney Olson has been dominant on the serve this season, tallying a career-high 49 aces. The fifth-year also leads the Gusties with 96.0 blocks this season. Defensively, Maren Sundberg leads the Gustie back line with 564 digs this season (18.2/match). 

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS

Calvin earned a spot in the NCAA tournament on an at-large bid. The Knights enter Thursday's match with a 22-7 overall record and No. 12 national ranking according to this week's AVCA DIII poll. In their last action, the Knights were swept by No. 3 Hope College in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) tournament championship. Calvin has averaged 13.3 kills per set this season with an attacking efficiency of 0.249, which ranks 14th in NCAA Division III. Aerin Baker is the team's top attacker, as the sophomore has posted 383 kills this season (3.58/set) to lead the Knights. Middle-hitter Vanessa Martinez has certainly helped the Knights post some of the nation's best defensive numbers, as the 5-11 junior sits third in all of Division III with 140 total blocks this season. Defensively, Aubrey Wrubel has 417 digs this season to lead the Calvin back line. 

AWARDS SEASON

For the first time in program and MIAC history, the Gusties earned six selections to the MIAC All-Conference team. Tweet, Olson, Turn, Klaith, Kes, and Sundberg all earned the first-team distinction. Tweet became the team's third straight Offensive Player of the Year, following Kate Holtan (2021) and Marlee Turn (2022). Tweet, Sundberg, and Klaith were also named to the MIAC All-Playoff team. Head Coach Rachelle Sherden was named MIAC Coach of the Year, as voted by her peers. The honor was her fourth overall and second straight. Tweet and Klaith were also named AVCA All-Region 9 First Team earlier in the week for their performance this season. 

AS TWEET AS CAN BE

Senior Kasie Tweet eclipsed the 3,000 career assist mark this season, becoming just the fifth player in program history to reach that milestone. Tweet's 1,153 assists this season rank 10th in program single season assists. She needs nine more to pass Rachel Batalden's total from the 2003 season, 11 more to pass Bridget Burtzel's 2008 total, and 28 more to pass Nora Holtan's 2017 total for seventh. Tweet's 3,479 career assists currently ranks fifth in program history. She would need a deep NCAA postseason run to challenge Burtzel's career 3713 for fourth overall.

HAVE FAITH IN KLAITH

Lauren Klaith has been nothing if not unstoppable in the Gusties' last few weeks of play. The senior has led the Gustie offense in six of the last seven matches, including both playoff contests last week. Klaith's season total of 372 kills is the most in her career - 134 more than her total last season. While putting up career numbers, Klaith has also maintained a high level of efficiency, posting a career-high 0.249 hitting percentage. Klaith has hit above 0.400 six times this season, including a combined mark of 0.622 in the week of Oct. 23. She also hit a career-high of 22 kills in last Saturday's playoff championship against St. Olaf.