The Gustavus Volleyball team played their first playoff match of the post-season against Saint Mary’s University on Thursday, Nov. 5. This issue was printed before the known match results.
The Gusties made it to the playoffs by sweeping the conference, with a record of 11-0. Including non-conference competition, the team has been undefeated for over two months, with the last and only losses coming against University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Cornell College on Sept. 4.
While the Gusties have failed to reach satisfying results in previous years, this year’s success is not coincidental. Head Coach Rachelle Sherden believes the success of her team is developed through a mixture of varying circumstances.
“A lot of things go into it. A few key factors include hard work, purposeful preparation, a team-first attitude, ownership, commitment, belief, a growth mindset, communication, depth, leadership, competitive spirit, passion and love for the game, and of course enjoying it and having fun,” Sherden said.
The Gusties made it to 21 consecutive wins when they conquered Loras College in a 3-0 victory on Oct. 17. The win erased the 31-year old record of 20 consecutive wins held by the 1984 team. Depending on how the team does in the first playoff game against Saint Mary’s University, the team can bump their win streak up to 26.
With a winning streak like that, other teams may see them as a threat. However, Senior Becca Woodstra finds strength in the harmonious and low-key atmosphere that Coach Ro Sherden provides.
“‘Ro’ has maintained her calm, cool, and collective mindset, serving as the anchor and inspiration for our team. She pushes us everyday to improve and to become ‘better than yesterday.’ Our mindset hasn’t changed and our practices haven’t changed. What we’ve been doing will continue to take us further,” Woodstra said.
Woodstra is also full of praise for the newcomers on the team. First-year hitter Lauren Hanson and First-year libero Brittany Luethmers have contributed vastly to the strong showing of this year’s team.
The rookie squad is one of the strongest the Gusties have seen. One who stands out from the crowd is First-year Nora Holtan who, with a remarkable 840 assists so far, has received the MIAC Hitter-of-the-Week honors, as well as being named the MIAC Rookie-of-the-Year and on top of that, earned her place on the All-Conference team.
“There have been some key first year players added to our starting lineup, and it’s just one of those years where everything clicks. We have incredible depth on our team, which pushes the starters to work harder, be smarter, and be better,” Woodstra said.
Holtan agrees with Woodstra on the attitude of their coach.
“Even though playoffs are in full swing ‘Ro’ is not doing much different. She always has us focusing on what we do instead of what the other teams are doing. We come into the gym like we are at the bottom of the ranks; hungry to improve and that is why we have had so much success so far,” Holtan said.
The Gusties ended the 2014 season with four straight losses and were thrown out of the playoffs after being swept by Saint Ben’s. Hitter Taylor Trautman, another MIAC honoree, was surprised when Coach Sherden expressed her thoughts on turning the rough patch around and explained that the team had enough potential to become MIAC champions.
“I remember Coach ‘Ro’ saying we were going to be number one in the conference this season and with how we finished last year, I thought she was crazy. She believed in us and in the program and in what we have done since the beginning. A big difference from previous years is that we put a majority of focus on what we do on our side of the court and not about the other team. When we do our job, the success comes on its own. We also have a lot of great depth in the team from smart and powerful freshman to the amazing leadership from the seniors. The reason it works is because we have so much heart and dedication to what we are doing,” Trautman said.
The motto “better than yesterday” is consistent between the coaching staff and the players. Coach Sherden’s finds there is no need to inspire her players any more than they inspire themselves. She believes that the hard work on the practice court is motivation enough.
“I don’t have to motivate them. They are hungry and come in every day wanting to get ‘better than yesterday’. Our players are confident in their game because of how hard they have worked this season. They don’t have to do anything special, just be themselves. We remind them of that often, but they know it,” Coach Sherden said.
If the Gusties defeat Saint Mary’s University the team will move on to the championship final on Nov. 7.