ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Gustavus volleyball team took to its fourth weekend on the road Friday, playing in the Wash U Bear Invite in St. Louis. The Gusties (7-6) split their matches on day one, sweeping Cornell (4-8) before falling to host and No. 9 Wash U (10-2), 3-1.
Gustavus 3, Cornell, 0
The Gusties started the day off strong, snapping an three-match slide with their third sweep of the season over Cornell, 3-0. Gustavus, which had played to a number of close matches in the last weekend, separated themselves from the Rams early, winning 25-14 in set one.
Brynn Smith (Sr., Brooklyn Park) helped the team set the tone, serving four consecutive points for a 5-1 lead, forcing three attack errors from the Rams. While Cornell tied the match at 9-9, the Gusties were unfazed, responding with a 7-2 run that put set one out of reach of Cornell. Gustavus closed things out outscoring the Rams 8-3, getting a pair of service aces from
Kasie Tweet (5th, Adrian), and four straight points with
Maren Sundberg (Jr., Eagan) on the serve.
Sophia Deyak (So., Iowa City, Iowa) closed things out with a block to end set one, 25-14.
Cornell mustered its best effort in set two, taking the Gusties to 25-22, but the overwhelming offense of
Sydney Timm (Jr., Lakeville) and
Lauren Klaith (5th, Rockford) was more than the Rams could handle, as both players totaled five kills in set two. The Rams tied the score seven times, but it wasn't enough to tame the Gusties, who used an attacking percentage of .361 and a near perfect serve performance to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Rams led set three through the opening serves, before the Gusties tied it at 11-11 on a Cornell block error. The Gusties closed things out on a 14-5 run to end the set and the match, with Smith once again delivering points on the serve. The senior collected a pair of service aces to help the Gusties pull away for good, and
Marlee Turn (5th, Kennedy) wrapped things up in match one with an ace of her own to seal the deal for the Gusties, 25-16.
Timm led the offense with an impressive line of 11 kills and just one error for a clip of .455, while Klaith totaled 10 kills with a .333 attacking percentage in match one of the day. Tweet continued to direct the offense with 33 assists, while the team totaled nine service aces, three of which came from Tweet. Sundberg led the back line with 16 digs to her name, while eight different Gusties chipped in a dig as well.
Gustavus 1, Wash U 3
The Gusties certainly carried their momentum into their second match of the evening, opening their competition against the hosts with a dominant set one. While the Bears were just five points behind the Gusties in the first set, Gustavus never trailed thanks to the dynamic duo of Klaith and Deyak.
Kasie Tweet on the serve delivered the first few Gustie points, and they never looked back, going on consistent runs of three to keep Wash U at arm's length. Klaith started with six kills in set one, while five and a .500 attacking percentage from Deyak helped Gustavus claim set one, 25-20.
Both teams proved their national status in set two, with 15 tie scores and six lead changes, before the Bears claimed it, 30-28. Neither team carried more than a two-point lead throughout the set, each totaling 21 kills on the offense. A pair of block errors proved to be the difference in the set two stat-line, helping Wash U to the slightest advantage over the Gusties. Following a timeout with Wash U up 28-27, the Gusties claimed their next point on a Bear service error, but a kill and a Gustavus attack error ended the marathon of a set, 30-28.
Wash U gathered its bearings in sets three and four, winning 25-21 and 25-20 to close out the match. The Gusties continued to run an efficient offense, hitting .257 and .310 in each set, respectively, but errors and blocks from the Bears led the hosts to victory. The Gusties struggled on the serve in the final two sets, totaling five service errors and six on the reception, while Wash U added five blocks to defeat the visitors in four.
Klaith and Deyak each finished with an impressive match, as the two totaled 23 and 17 kills, the best marks of their collegiate careers.
Sydney Timm added 12 to round out the Gustie attackers.
Kasie Tweet chipped in 52 assists and 11 digs for a double-double, while
Marlee Turn added 13 digs, and Sundberg led the match with 24. Deyak finished with four blocks, while Sundberg and
Macie Malchow (Fy., Sioux Falls, S.D.) combined for the team's two aces.
The Gusties are back in action tomorrow against No. 3 UW-Whitewater (11-1, 0-1 WIAC), facing the Warhawks at 10:30 a.m. to conclude the weekend.
