SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team, winner of the last three MIAC regular season and playoff championships, is set to return to the court Friday, kicking off the season at the Pikes Peak Challenge hosted by Colorado College. 

The Gusties will face off against some of the top competition in the nation, starting with No. 5 UW-Oshkosh, the same team that knocked Gustavus out of the national tournament last November. 

Head Coach Rachelle Sherden, in her 15th and final season at the helm of the program, certainly has veteran leadership on her side, as 15 of her 19 players are returners, including a trio of All-American fifth-years.

"Our seniors and upperclassmen set the tone right away for standards in our gym and are training and playing with a lot of confidence and pride," said Sherden. "They continue to be focused on growing their game and getting better each day."

Most notable of those returners are Kasie Tweet (5th, Adrian), Lauren Klaith (5th, Rockford), and Marlee Turn (5th, Kennedy). All three have proven their impact on the program, each earning All-Conference, All-Region, and All-America honors. Tweet is the reigning MIAC Offensive Player of the Year, while Turn claimed the award in 2022, marking the first time a school in the MIAC is returning two different Offensive Players of the Year in the same season. 

Tweet directed the Gustie offense last year, totaling 1,214 assists to lead the MIAC and rank fifth in NCAA Division III. She added 40 service aces and 356 digs to her stat line, finishing the season with 21 assist-dig double-doubles. Klaith was the go-to outside for the Gusties last season, collecting her first All-America honor and leading the MIAC in hitting efficiency (.348). Klaith totaled a career-high 394 kills in 2024, ranking 10th in a single season in program history, and had double-digit kills in 25 matches throughout the year. Turn, meanwhile, played a significant role offensively and defensively, posting 374 kills and 376 digs, marks that both ranked second on the team. Turn had 18 kill-dig double-doubles last year, which ranks second in all-time program history.  

Their contributions, along with that of defensive specialist Maren Sundberg (Jr., Eagan), helped the 2023 squad to a 26-7 overall record and a perfect 11-0 mark in the conference for the second consecutive season. Sundberg has proven to be one of the program's best liberos in just two full seasons as a Gustie. A two-time All-Conference honoree and Honorable Mention All-American, Sundberg led the Gustie back line with 610 digs in 118 sets last season and ranks in the top 10 of all Gustie defensive specialists for career digs as just a junior. 

The 2024 roster is composed of three fifth-years, two seniors, seven juniors, three sophomores, and four first-years. Logan Brent (Ramsey), Macie Malchow (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Addison Dirkes (Albert Lea), and Kyra Johnson (Esko) are the team's four newcomers, and have each proven their skill at the high school level, combining for seven MVP awards, five All-Conference selections, and three All-State honors. Sherden is looking forward to the contributions her first-year players will make on the court for years to come. 

"Our returners do a phenomenal job of mentoring our first-years and showing them the ropes during preseason and throughout the year. It can be overwhelming with so many transitions and changes, both on and off the court, but our newcomers are handling themselves very well. They are competing hard, fitting into our team, and absorbing all the information and advice we have for them."

The Gusties will be battle-tested early, as their first two competitors are ranked nationally, and 10 opponents on the schedule competed in last year's national tournament.

"We created our schedule with great intention this year," said Sherden. "Our goal is to prepare this talented and veteran group to play the best competition in the nation right away and throughout the season." 

Gustavus will compete in two scrimmages Tuesday night in Mankato before traveling to Colorado Springs. The No. 16-ranked Gusties will face No. 5 UW-Oshkosh and No. 11 Transylvania Friday afternoon before taking on Millikin and host Colorado College Saturday.

"Our practices have been extremely competitive so far. The team is focused and working hard, and I'm very excited to see how each player will continue to contribute in our gym and make an impact on the potential of this very talented team."

RECORD WATCH

The 2024 Gustavus volleyball team has the chance to surpass a number of school, conference, and NCAA records. Here's a preview of just a few records the Gusties are hunting this season:

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

The Gusties' matches against Transylvania and Emory this season will mark the first-ever meetings between the programs.  

FOURTH TIME'S THE CHARM

The Gusties have the opportunity to complete the first four-peat MIAC regular season and playoff championship sweep in conference history. Only one other school has won four consecutive MIAC championships, St. Olaf from 1993-96, before the playoff championship was founded in 2001.

1K MAGIC

Kasie Tweet and Marlee Turn are both within reach of 1,000 career digs, each with the chance to achieve the mark in their first weekend of competition. Tweet is just five digs shy of a thousand, while Turn is 45 away from the mark. Offensively, Lauren Klaith is 293 kills away from her thousandth, and has averaged 316 over her last two seasons.

DIRECTING TRAFFIC 

Coming off one of the most successful seasons in Gustavus volleyball history, Kasie Tweet has the opportunity to rewrite the Gustavus record book in her fifth and final year. Tweet has posted over 1,000 assists in each of her last three seasons. If she reaches 1k once more, she will claim sole possession of the career assists record, passing Gustie legend Nora Holtan, who graduated with 4527 in 2019. Tweet also ranks second in active assist career leaders in all of NCAA Division III, behind only Grace Ward of Transylvania.

CAN YOU DIG IT?

Maren Sundberg currently ranks 10th all-time in program career digs with 1183 in just two seasons. The junior could climb up to fourth in the program rankings this year if she maintains her average of 591 a season.