SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - No. 17 Gustavus volleyball wrapped up play at the UC-Santa Cruz Slug Fest with a win and loss, moving to 3-1 on the season. The Gusties shut out Willamette 3-0 before falling to the host Banana Slugs 3-1.
Gustavus 3, Willamette 0
The Gusties got out to an early lead in the first set an never looked back. An 8-1 run made the score 10-3 and the Gusties finished the frame on a 7-3 run to close out the set at 25-15.
Willamette scored the first point of the second set, but that was its only lead after the Gusties responded with a 6-1 spree and cruised to another 25-15 decision.
The third set proved to be the most competitive with 12 ties and seven lead changes. Trailing 19-15 late in the set, the Gusties two of the next three rallies and then finished the match with eight unanswered points for a 25-20 win.
The Gusties outhit the Bearcats .283-.031 with
Marlee Turn (Kennedy, Minn.) leading the attack with 11 kills and a .375 attack rate.
Kasie Tweet (Adrian, Minn.) dished out 28 assists, while
Maren Sundberg (Eagan, Minn.) dug out 12 attacks.
Gustavus 1, UC-Santa Cruz 3
The Gusties' streak of nine consecutive sets won came to an end in the first frame against the host Banana Slugs. Gustavus tied the score four times early in the frame before six straight points for the hosts gave them the lead for good in a 25-19 decision.
Santa Cruz rolled its momentum into the second with an early 8-3 advantage. The Gusties cut the lead to two points three times late in the set but consecutive kills for the Banana Slugs closed it out at 25-21.
The Gusties didn't lay down in the third and battled back from a 7-4 deficit with four straight points for the lead. From there, the set saw seven ties and a couple lead changes but the Gusties finished the frame with a kill by
Lauren Klaith (Rockford, Minn.) for a 25-21 win.
Gustavus erased an early deficit in the fourth at 8-7 and maintained the lead until the Slugs went on a 7-3 run to gain a lead they did not relinquish for a 25-20 match-decider.
The Gusties were limited to a .172 attack percentage while the Banana Slugs hit .257. As she did all weekend, Turn paced the offense with 18 kills. She also posted a season-high 20 digs for a double-double. Klaith finished with 16 kills. Tweet contributed 43 assists and eight digs.
Gustavus next plays at the Augsburg Invite on Friday and Saturday.
