MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - In a matchup of top-20 nationally ranked Division III volleyball teams, No. 15 Gustavus suffered a 3-0 defeat at No. 17 Cornell on Friday night. The loss snapped a five-match win streak as the Gusties drop to 8-2 overall while the Rams improve to 8-1. 

The first set proved to be the most competitive with six ties. The fourth tie came at 24-24 after the Gusties erased set point for the Rams with a kill from Lauren Klaith (Rockford, Minn.) followed by consecutive service aces by Mayssa Tweet (Adrian, Minn.). Cornell held set point again at 25-24 but a service error tied it up again. Another kill from the Rams made it 26-25, but again an unforced error resulted in the sixth tie at 26-26. The home team followed with two kills to claim a long first frame. 

Cornell got out to a 9-2 lead in the second and the Gusties were never able to recover. Gustavus got within one point at 21-20, but the Rams finished the frame on a 4-1 run. 

The Gusties claimed their first lead of the night with the first point of the third set and increased the advantage to 6-4 after three kills from Madi Kes (Jordan, Minn.), but the Rams went on a 9-2 run and kept the lead for the rest of the set for the straight set victory. 

Cornell attacked at .287 while the Gusties were limited to .143. Kes led the offense with 11 kills and a .667 hitting percentage. Klaith and Marlee Turn (Kennedy, Minn.) added 10 kills apiece while Turn added 12 digs for a double-double. Kasie Tweet (Adrian, Minn.) posted 34 assists and Maren Sundberg (Eagan, Minn.) had 14 digs. 

Gustavus plays Coe and Loras at the Loras Invite tomorrow afternoon in Dubuque. 
  Read Full Article