ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team met a pair of nationally-ranked opponents on the final day of the UNW VolleyWOW Weekend, matching up with No. 5 Emory and No. 13 Northwestern-St. Paul. The Gusties were swept by Emory before falling to the hosts 3-1 in their final match of the weekend.
Gustavus 0, Emory 3
The Gusties opened Saturday with their biggest test of the weekend, facing the No. 5 Emory Eagles. The Eagles proved to be worthy of their ranking, taking down the Gusties 3-0, marking the first time all season Gustavus has been swept by an opponent.
In the first set, the Gusties got out to a hot start, with four different players contributing for the first five points of the set. An early 10-6 lead for the Gusties forced an Eagle timeout. The break certainly made a difference, as Emory responded with a 14-2 run themselves to burn both of the Gusties' timeouts and take a 20-12 lead. Gustavus fought back, getting the score back to 23-24, but Emory closed out the set to win 25-23.
Lauren Klaith (5th, Rockford) led the offense with four kills and a .667 hitting percentage in the first set.
In a set of unfortunate bounces and breaks for the Gusties, Emory started hot in set two, getting out to an early 6-2 lead. The Gusties fought, keeping the set close for its entirety, trailing, at its largest, by five until the last two points of the set, but could never overtake the Emory lead. A shining spot for the Gusties continued to be their balanced attack, with
Kasie Tweet (5th, Adrian) finding four different Gusties for kills in the second set. The difference proved to be the Emory offense, with the Eagles hitting a .278 clip with 16 kills, eight more than the Gusties.
The third and final set saw the most back-and-forth play, with the largest lead of the set being three for the Gusties. They struggled to hold on to extend the match to a fourth set, with offensive production falling for both teams. A hitting percentage of .041 plagued the Gusties and prevented them from taking the third, sealing the match with a 25-23 mark.
The Gusties proved that they can handle some of the best Saturday morning, with a total of 11 points separating the No. 12 and No. 5 nationally-ranked teams. Klaith led the way offensively for the Gusties with 11 kills, followed by
Sydney Timm (Jr., Lakeville) with seven. Defensively, libero
Maren Sundberg (Jr., Eagan) had 17 digs, with
Brynn Smith (Sr., Brooklyn Park) grabbing 13. Tweet directed the offense with 24 assists, while Timm and
Kiera Petersen (So., Woodbury) each had four blocks apiece.
Gustavus 1, Northwestern-St. Paul 3
The Gusties met a familiar foe in their final match of the weekend, as Northwestern-St. Paul and Gustavus have long been rivals and perennial powerhouses in Minnesota Division III volleyball, and Saturday's match was no different. The Gusties lead the all-time series against the Eagles, 18 matches to 16, and after losing the last four in a row against UNW, the Gusties took to the court in hopes of setting the record straight.
The first set of the match was as tight as expected for a nationally-ranked rivalry match, with the largest lead of the set at six points. The Eagles were quick out of the gate, grabbing a 4-1 lead, but the Gusties had answers through
Logan Brent (Fy., Ramsey), Petersen, and Klaith. The Gusties regained the lead and held onto it until UNW evened it at 12-12, but a 5-2 Eagle run gave them a 17-14 lead. The Gusties and the Eagles traded points, and Northwestern grabbed the set on the fourth time of asking, 25-21.
In the second set, the Gusties held strong, trading points until 16-16, when UNW started to pull away. After the tie score, the Eagles ended the set on a 9-3 run, with the help of a few Gustie errors. Errors plagued the Gusties down the stretch, with seven on the attack and four on the serve, hitting .122. Combined with seven blocks by Northwestern, the Eagles took set two 25-19.
The third set provided the first set win of the day for the Gusties, claiming a 25-22 victory. The Gusties trailed 14-8 until a
Rachelle Sherden timeout flipped the set on its head. The Gusties claimed seven straight points, courtesy of three attack errors by Northwestern and kills by Klaith, Tweet,
Addison Dirkes (Fy., Albert Lea), and a block by Klaith and Dirkes to take the lead, 15-14. The Gusties used the momentum shift, combined with zero service errors, two service aces, five blocks, and 13 kills to propel the match to a fourth set.
The fourth set was controlled mostly by Northwestern, with the Gusties struggling to get their footing to climb back. The latest tie of the set was at 3-3, and after that, the Eagles grabbed the lead and would not let go for the rest of the match. With the score at 8-6, the Eagles stormed through a 12-1 run that put the set and match out of reach for the Gusties, who .029 with eight attack errors and one block.
The Gusties finished hitting .113 in the match, but three players had over ten kills for the match, as Klaith totaled 15,
Marlee Turn (5th, Kennedy) added 11, and
Sydney Timm put up 10. Timm had a double-double for the match with 11 digs to her name, her third double-double of the season. Tweet collected 30 assists, while
Maren Sundberg led the defense with 18 digs. Klaith was named to the All-Tournament team with 43 kills to her name for the weekend.
The Gusties drop to 6-5 on the season and are back in action on Friday, Sept. 20 at the Wash U Bear Invite, facing another trio of nationally-ranked opponents, starting with Cornell College.
