SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team made history Saturday night with a 3-1 win over St. Catherine (19-8, 9-2 MIAC), completing its third consecutive undefeated conference season and collecting the program's 10th MIAC Regular Season Championship and fourth in a row. The Gusties (20-9, 11-0 MIAC) are the first team in recorded MIAC history to compile three undefeated league records in consecutive years. In that time, the team has conceded only nine sets to conference opponents, collecting 25 3-0 sweeps.
The Wildcats proved to be the Gusties' biggest conference test in their final regular season match of the year, storming into Gus Young Court and claiming a first set victory over the home team. After a few tie scores through the first few serves, the Wildcats gave themselves a four-point cushion at 9-5 off a kill, a pair of Gustie errors, and a service ace.
Mara Holland (Jr., Decorah, Iowa) was the first set difference-maker, posting a trio of kills, including two back-to-back to even the score at 11-11. A
Sophia Deyak (So., Iowa City, Iowa) kill put the Gusties up for their first lead of the set, 12-11. St. Catherine once again took a four-point lead, taking advantage of some Gustie serving struggles, delivering four aces to swing the advantage back in their favor. With a three-point lead at set point, a well-time
Rachelle Sherden timeout helped the Gusties tie the score at at 24, 25, and 26, but an attack error and subsequent kill ended the set in favor of the visitors, 28-26.
The Wildcats carried their momentum into the second, taking an early lead at 8-3. Following a Deyak block, the Gusties responded with a 10-4 run that tied the score at 12-12. With
Lauren Klaith (5th, Rockford, Minn.) on the serve, Gustavus collected four consecutive points to take the lead for good. While SCU cut the difference to two points, Klaith and
Macie Malchow (Fy., Sioux Falls, S.D.) ended the set with a pair of kills for a 25-20 victory.
St. Catherine led for almost the entirety of the third, going on an 8-4 run highlighted by five consecutive kills early in the set. The Gusties struggled to catch up until a
Leah Berg (Jr., Kenyon, Minn.) kill put the serve in the hands of
Brynn Smith (Sr., Brooklyn Park). Smith made the most of her Senior Night, rattling off four points on the serve to give the Gusties their first lead at 20-19. The Wildcats kept pace, though, tying the score twice more, including at 23-23, but a pair of costly attack errors gave the Gusties the 2-1 advantage in the match with a 25-23 win.
The Gusties found their groove in the fourth set, taking over at 6-5 and never relinquishing the lead, holding St. Catherine to a .065 attacking percentage while totaling 19 kills of their own. SCU cut the lead to one a number of times, but
Maren Sundberg (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) helped put the set and match out of reach with a trio of points while on the serve. The Gusties led by as many as six, including the 25-19 final, sealed with a kill from Berg to cap another historical MIAC season.
The Gusties totaled 72 kills compared to 46 for the Wildcats, hitting .265 as a team. Four players had double-digit kills, led by Klaith with 22 on 49 attempts and just two errors for a .408 clip. Berg was next with 15, while Holland chipped in 14 of her own. Deyak rounded out the balanced offense with 11 kills, also collecting three solo blocks and a pair of block assists, a career-high for the sophomore middle. National Player of the Week
Kasie Tweet (5th, Adrian, Minn.) collected 60 assists, just one shy of her season-high set in September against Eau Claire. She completed the double-double with 13 digs, and added a solo block and a pair of kills to her stat line. Sundberg led the back line with 19 digs, while Smith chipped in 13 of her own.
The Gusties also locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs, set to begin with quarterfinals on Tuesday. The conference tournament will once again run through Saint Peter, with Gustavus receiving a bye through the first round. The Gusties will face the winner of Saint Benedict (12-11, 8-3 MIAC) and Augsburg (16-13, 7-4 MIAC) at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
