SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College volleyball team hosted the Macalester College Scots and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers on Saturday afternoon at Gus Young Court for a triangular. The Gusties split their matches on the day, earning a 3-1 victory over the Scots and then falling 3-1 to the Pointers. At the end of the triangular, Gustavus moved to 15-11 overall and 6-3 in the MIAC.
Match One vs Macalester
Macalester jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the opening set, but Gustavus responded with five consecutive points, highlighted by a kill from
Logan Brent, a service ace from
Ava Hahn, and a kill from
Lauren Barker, to even the score at 5-5. The Gusties took their first lead at 7-6 following a kill from
Lauren Wiese and extended their advantage to 10-6 before the Scots fought back to tie the match at 13 all. Gustavus responded with three consecutive points, including kills from Wiese and
Meaghan Kreiser, to push their lead to 16-13. The Gusties maintained their advantage, eventually building a 22-19 lead before Macalester scored two consecutive points to make it 22-21. Gustavus closed out the set by winning three of the final four points, highlighted by a
Lainie Barrick service ace and a set-sealing kill from Wiese, to secure a 25-22 victory.
The Gusties carried their momentum into the second set, taking an early 4-2 lead before extending their advantage to 8-5 behind kills from Wiese and Kreiser. Gustavus continued to build its lead, with back-to-back kills from Brent pushing the score to 11-7. The Gusties maintained control throughout the middle of the set, extending their lead to six at 17-11 following another Kreiser kill. Macalester responded with three consecutive points to cut the deficit to 17-14, but Gustavus answered with a 4-0 run, highlighted by two service aces from Barrick, to take a commanding 21-14 lead. The Gusties reached set point at 24-16 following consecutive kills from
Greta Tompkins before a Macalester attack error secured the 25-17 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
The third set featured a back-and-forth battle, with the teams trading points throughout the early stages. Gustavus took a 9-7 lead before extending its advantage to 15-10 behind kills from Brent and Barrick. The Gusties maintained their five-point lead at 18-13, but Macalester responded with five consecutive points to tie the set at 18-18. Gustavus answered with a 4-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Kreiser, to regain control at 22-18. The Scots refused to go away, however, scoring five consecutive points to take a 23-22 lead. Kreiser delivered a kill to even the score at 23-23, but Macalester secured the final two points to win the set 25-23 and force a fourth set.
Gustavus responded emphatically in the fourth set, overcoming an early 6-5 deficit with six consecutive points to take an 11-6 lead. The run featured a service ace from
Macie Malchow and a kill from Brent. The Gusties continued to build their advantage, extending their lead to 17-10 behind consecutive kills from Kreiser and Tompkins. Gustavus then rattled off four consecutive points, highlighted by a kill from Barker and a block from Barker and Tompkins, to take a commanding 21-11 lead. The Gusties reached match point at 24-13 following a kill from Barrick before Barrick and Wiese combined for the match-winning block, securing a 25-13 victory and the 3-1 win.
Brent led the Gustavus offensive attack with a match-high 16 kills while adding 13 digs for a double-double. Wiese followed with nine kills and six block assists, while Barker and Kreiser each contributed eight kills. Barker hit a team-best .300 while adding four block assists. Barrick anchored the Gusties' defensive effort at the net, recording a match-high 12 total blocks, including three solo blocks, while adding three service aces. Hahn led the back-row defense with a match-high 24 digs and three service aces, while
Hannah Baron added 13 digs.
Sahara Morken paced the Gustavus offense with 25 assists, while Malchow contributed 14 assists and two service aces. As a team, Gustavus recorded 52 kills on .165 hitting, eight service aces, 74 digs, and 16 total blocks, holding Macalester to just .025 hitting in the victory.
Match Two vs UW-Stevens Point
The opening set featured a back-and-forth battle, with Gustavus taking an early 5-4 lead behind kills from
Lauren Barker,
Lainie Barrick, and
Logan Brent. The two teams traded points throughout the early stages before UW-Stevens Point used a 4-0 run to take a 14-10 advantage. The Pointers extended their lead to 19-13, forcing the Gusties to use their second timeout of the set. Gustavus responded with a kill from Barker and later scored three consecutive points, highlighted by kills from Brent and
Lauren Wiese, to cut the deficit to 22-19. However, UW-Stevens Point held off the late rally, closing out the set with a 25-20 victory to take a 1-0 match lead.
Gustavus responded emphatically in the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead behind kills from Brent and Barker. The Gusties continued to build their advantage, extending their lead to 9-4 following a service ace from Barrick before a kill from
Meaghan Kreiser pushed the score to 10-4. Gustavus maintained control throughout the middle of the set, building a 12-5 lead following a service ace from
Sahara Morken. The Pointers fought back to cut the deficit to 15-13, but the Gusties answered with a kill from Brent and later extended their lead to 19-14. Gustavus continued their offensive success, with kills from Wiese,
Greta Tompkins, and Barker pushing the advantage to 23-17. The Gusties closed out the set with consecutive blocks from Tompkins and Barker, securing a 25-17 victory to even the match at 1-1. Gustavus recorded 16 kills on a .333 hitting percentage in the set while holding the Pointers to just .083 hitting.
The third set began with Gustavus taking an early 2-0 lead before UW-Stevens Point responded with six consecutive points to move ahead 6-2. The Gusties battled back with a 4-0 run, highlighted by kills from Barker and Brent, to even the score at 6-6. The teams continued to trade points before the Pointers built a 13-9 advantage, forcing a Gustavus timeout. UW-Stevens Point extended its lead to 17-12, but the Gusties responded with a strong rally, scoring six consecutive points to take an 18-17 lead. The Pointers answered with six consecutive points of their own to regain control at 23-18. Despite a late point from Gustavus, UW-Stevens Point secured the final two points to win the set 25-19 and take a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set proved to be the most competitive of the afternoon, featuring 15 ties and nine lead changes as the teams battled well beyond the traditional 25-point mark. Gustavus took an early 5-2 lead before UW-Stevens Point responded to take a 9-8 advantage. The Gusties answered with a 5-0 run, highlighted by kills from Tompkins and Brent and consecutive service aces from
Hannah Baron, to move ahead 13-9. Gustavus maintained its advantage through the middle of the set, taking a 17-15 lead following a kill from Barrick. The Pointers fought back to take an 18-17 advantage, but the Gusties responded with kills from Tompkins and Barker to regain the lead at 21-19. The teams continued trading points before UW-Stevens Point moved ahead 24-23. Wiese delivered a kill to even the score at 24-24, and a Pointer attack error gave Gustavus its first set point at 25-24. UW-Stevens Point answered, and the teams continued to exchange points, with the Gusties earning additional set-point opportunities at 28-27, 29-28, and 30-29. However, the Pointers scored the final three points of the set to secure a 32-30 victory and the 3-1 match win.
Brent led the Gustavus offensive attack with a match-high 18 kills while adding 16 digs for her second double-double of the day. Barker followed with 12 kills on .269 hitting while contributing five total blocks, including one solo block. Tompkins and Barrick each recorded seven kills, with Tompkins leading the Gusties at the net with eight total blocks, including three solo blocks. Barrick posted a team-best .385 hitting percentage while adding two total blocks and a service ace. Wiese contributed six kills, while Kreiser added five kills and two total blocks. Hahn anchored the Gustavus back-row defense with a team-high 24 digs, while Baron added 12 digs and two service aces. Morken paced the Gustie offense with 25 assists, while
Macie Malchow contributed 19 assists. As a team, Gustavus recorded 55 kills on .171 hitting, four service aces, 76 digs, and 12 total blocks, holding UW-Stevens Point to .139 hitting in the loss.
Up Next
The Gusties will travel up to St. Paul for a midweek battle on the road against the No. 24 nationally ranked University of Northwestern Eagles on Wednesday, November 4 at 7:00 p.m.
