NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College volleyball team traveled to Northfield on Thursday night to take on the St. Olaf College Oles at the Skoglund Athletic Center in the MIAC Playoff Semifinals. The Gusties defeated the Oles 3-1, winning by set scores of 24-26, 25-22, 25-16, and 25-22. With the victory, Gustavus improved to 20-11 overall and punched their ticket to the conference championship match.
Gustavus opened the match strong, taking an early 10-6 lead behind four kills from
Logan Brent and a service ace from
Ava Hahn. The Gusties maintained their advantage throughout the opening stages, extending their lead to 16-12 before St. Olaf rallied to tie the set at 17-17. The two teams traded points before the Oles took a 23-20 lead. Gustavus responded with a 4-1 run, highlighted by two kills from Brent, to stave off two set points and tie the score at 24-24. However, St. Olaf scored the final two points to take the opening set 26-24.
The Gusties responded in the second set, jumping out to a 7-1 lead behind three consecutive service aces from Hahn and kills from Brent and
Lauren Barker. St. Olaf battled back to take a 13-10 advantage, but Gustavus rallied from a 16-13 deficit with seven consecutive points, highlighted by two more service aces from Hahn and kills from Brent, Barker, and
Lainie Barrick. The Gusties maintained their lead down the stretch, with kills from Brent and
Meaghan Kreiser helping secure the second set 25-22 and even the match at 1-1.
Gustavus carried its momentum into the third set, taking an early 3-0 lead behind kills from Barker and
Greta Tompkins. After St. Olaf briefly took a 4-3 advantage, the Gusties responded with a 4-0 run and never trailed again. Leading 11-10, Gustavus scored four in a row to extend its advantage to 15-10. The Gusties continued to pull away, building a 19-12 lead behind a service ace from Hahn and kills from Kreiser and Barker. Gustavus finished the set with 18 kills on .275 hitting, as Kreiser delivered the final kill to secure a 25-16 victory and give the Gusties a 2-1 match lead.
The Gusties faced an early 8-5 deficit in the fourth set before responding with a 6-1 run, highlighted by two kills from Tompkins, a service ace from
Ella Olson, and two blocks involving Tompkins. St. Olaf rallied to take a 14-13 lead, but Gustavus answered with three consecutive points to regain a 16-14 advantage. The Gusties maintained their lead behind kills from
Kyra Johnson and Kreiser, extending the margin to 20-17. After the Oles cut the deficit to 20-19, Gustavus scored four of the next five points, highlighted by a service ace from
Macie Malchow and two blocks from Barrick. St. Olaf fought off two match points before an attack error secured the fourth set 25-22 and completed the 3-1 victory for the Gusties.
Brent led the Gustavus offense with 22 kills (5.50 per set) and 14 digs, while Kreiser followed with 11 kills on .267 hitting. Barker added nine kills, while Tompkins contributed seven kills on an impressive .467 hitting percentage. Johnson finished with five kills, while Barrick added four kills and five total blocks.
Sahara Morken directed the offense with 25 assists, while Malchow contributed 21 assists, eight digs, and a service ace. Hahn anchored the defense with a match-high 23 digs, nine assists, and seven service aces, while Olson added 16 digs. As a team, Gustavus finished with 59 kills on .192 hitting, 10 service aces, 80 digs, and nine total blocks.
Up next for the Gusties is the MIAC Playoff Championship match on the road against the Bethel University Royals on Saturday, November 14 at 7:00 p.m. in Arden Hills.
