LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kasie Tweet (5th, Adrian, Minn.) was named Second Team All-America and Lauren Klaith (5th, Rockford, Minn.) Third Team when the 2024 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national awards were announced on Wednesday, Nov. 27. The honor is the second for both athletes, who received the same recognition following the 2023 season. 

This is the second consecutive year that the Gusties have had multiple All-America honorees, but only the second time since 1986. The team has had at least one All-American for four years in a row, and Tweet and Klaith become the fourth and fifth Gusties to garner multiple All-America laurels, joining Linn Erickson Ahrendt '87 HOF '02, Val Flom Ashland '87 HOF '03, and Nora Holtan '19. The program owns 15 total All-America awards, and the two for Tweet and Klaith bring the Gustavus Athletics total to 899.

Tweet, who was named the AVCA Region 9 Player of the Year just a week earlier, will graduate as one of the most accomplished and decorated setters in Gustavus and MIAC history. For the second consecutive season, Tweet led the conference in every setting statistic, posting her fourth 1,000-assist season in a row. She finished her career with a total of 4,636 assists, a mark that ranks first in program history, ninth in MIAC history, fifth among active Division III setters, and 13th among all current NCAA volleyball players (any division).

Overall, Tweet ended the regular season fourth in the nation in assists per set (10.96) and 13th in total assists (1,096). Her efforts helped the Gusties build one of the best offenses in the country, ranking fifth in DIII in team assists per set (12.86), third in kills per set (14.07), and 13th in team attacks per set (39.42). Tweet added 50 kills, 33 service aces, 24 blocks, and 279 digs this year, completing 13 assist-dig double-doubles. She appeared seven times on the individual leaderboard for assists in a match, leading the NCAA with the highest in four sets after a 60-assist performance against St. Catherine. She also owns the third-most in four sets (59 at Bethany Lutheran), the sixth-most in five sets (61 vs. UW-Eau Claire), and is in the top-30 in three other matches.

Tweet won a total of 28 awards over her five-year career, becoming the second player in program history and just the third in the MIAC to be named the AVCA Regional Player of the Year, joining Nora Holtan, who received the honor in 2018, and Saint Benedict's Hunter Weiss (2019). Tweet is just the third player in conference history to win four MIAC Athlete of the Week honors in one season, and the first since 2016, joining fellow Gustie All-American Holtan, and Katie Reynolds of St. Thomas who achieved the feat in 2002. She was also the second in MIAC history and only among current institutions to be named AVCA National Player of the Week twice. She will graduate appearing 10 different times in the Gustavus record books.

Klaith has been Tweet's primary target over the last two seasons, as the Rockford native has climbed up the Gustavus and MIAC leaderboards in record time. Klaith joined Tweet as an All-Region First Team selection last week as the Gusties' and the MIAC's top outside hitter. This season, she collected 411 kills (2nd MIAC/26th NCAA DIII) for an average of 3.99 per set (1st MIAC/32nd NCAA DIII) and 13.7 per match. Klaith didn't just rack up total kills, though, she did so efficiently, hitting 0.295 for the season, posting a clip of over .400 eight times this season, all matches with double figure kills. Three times this year she hit without a single attacking error.

She collected her 1,000th career kill against Concordia on Oct. 16, becoming just the 17th player in program history to reach the milestone, largely achieved in her last three seasons. She finished her career with 1,119 kills (2.90/set) and an attacking percentage of 0.248. Her 1,119 kills rank 12th in Gustie volleyball history, while her 411 kills this year were the fourth-most by any player in one season. She graduates owning two of the top four marks for matches with double figure kills in a season, as she totaled 27 this year and 26 in 2023, which rank third and fourth (28 is the record).

A two-time MIAC All-Conference selection, Klaith also earned MIAC Athlete of the Week honors three times this season, as well as selections to two All-Tournament teams in the Gusties' non-conference schedule. She appears six times in the Gustavus record books, and is the first Gustavus outside since Flom in 1986 to earn multiple All-America awards.

Gustavus was the only school in the MIAC to receive Second or Third Team All-America honors. No conference school was represented on the First Team. Augsburg's Brianna Van Well, Bethel's Peyton Howie, Saint Benedict's Audrey Spolidoro, and St. Olaf's Morgan Ryan were all named Honorable Mention All-America.

The Gusties finished the season 20-10 overall and 11-0 in the MIAC, becoming the first conference school to compile three consecutive undefeated league records. The 2024 MIAC Regular Season Champions were upset in the second round of the conference playoffs by Saint Benedict, and were passed up for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.