WHITEWATER, Wis. – The Gustavus Adolphus College volleyball team faced Carthage College on Saturday at the Dig Panici Classic hosted by UW-Whitewater. The Gusties swept the Firebirds 3-0 in the match, improving to 13-10 overall while remaining 4-3 in the MIAC.
Gustavus started the opening set strong, jumping out to an early 6-3 lead. The Gusties maintained their advantage through the early stages of the set before Carthage battled back to tie the score at 11-11. Gustavus responded with a 5-0 run, highlighted by kills from
Logan Brent and a service ace from
Macie Malchow, to take a 16-11 lead. The Firebirds answered with four consecutive points to cut the deficit to one at 16-15, but the Gusties pushed their lead back to four at 19-15. Carthage continued to battle, eventually taking a 22-21 lead after winning four consecutive points. The teams traded points until the Firebirds reached set point at 24-23. Gustavus responded with a kill from
Lauren Barker to tie the set before Brent put the Gusties ahead 25-24. Malchow then delivered a service ace to complete the comeback and give Gustavus the opening set 26-24.
The Firebirds came out strong in the second set, winning seven of the first eight points to take a commanding 7-1 lead. Gustavus quickly responded with a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to two at 8-6. Carthage maintained a narrow advantage through the middle of the set, but the Gusties continued to chip away at the lead. Trailing 19-16, Gustavus won two consecutive points to pull within one at 19-18. After the Firebirds pushed their lead to 20-18, the Gusties rattled off four straight points, highlighted by a service ace from
Hannah Baron and a kill from Brent, to take a 22-20 lead. Carthage fought back to within one at 24-23, but Brent delivered the final kill to secure a 25-23 set victory and put Gustavus ahead 2-0 in the match.
The third set began with the two teams trading points, as neither side was able to establish a lead of more than two through the early stages. Carthage broke a 9-9 tie with five of the next six points to take a 14-10 advantage. The Gusties responded with four consecutive points, highlighted by a service ace from Malchow and back-to-back kills from Brent, to tie the set at 14-14. The teams continued to battle until the Firebirds won four straight points to take a 20-17 lead. Gustavus then caught fire, rattling off five consecutive points, including a service ace from
Sahara Morken and a kill from
Greta Tompkins, to take a 22-20 lead. Carthage cut the deficit to one on two occasions, but the Gusties held strong. Tompkins delivered a kill to reach match point at 24-22 before
Lainie Barrick finished the match with a block to give Gustavus the set 25-22 and complete the 3-0 sweep.
Brent led the way for Gustavus with 15 kills on an impressive .438 hitting percentage while adding nine digs.
Lauren Wiese and
Meaghan Kreiser followed with seven kills apiece, hitting .200 and .300, respectively. Barker and Tompkins each contributed five kills. Morken and Malchow orchestrated the Gusties' attack, recording 17 and 12 assists, respectively, while Malchow added a team-high three service aces.
Ava Hahn led the Gustavus defensive performance with 11 digs, while Barrick anchored the front row with seven total blocks. As a team, the Gusties recorded 10 blocks and hit .236 in the victory.
Up next for Gustavus is a road trip up to Duluth on Friday, October 30 for a 6:00 p.m. conference match against the College of St. Scholastica Saints.
