SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College volleyball team hosted the St. Catherine University Wildcats at Saint Peter High School on Saturday night in their first home match of the season. The Gusties took down the Wildcats 3-1 to improve to 9-4 overall and open their conference schedule with a 2-0 weekend following their 3-2 reverse sweep victory over Saint Ben's on Friday night.
St. Kate's led 5-4 early in the first set until Gustavus caught fire and went on a 12-3 run, taking an eight-point lead up 16-8. The Wildcats responded by taking the next four points and went on to climb back to within one as the Gusties' lead was narrowed to 21-20. Gustavus would close out the set with a 4-1 run to win it 25-21 and go up 1-0 in the match.
In the second set, St. Kate's started strong with a 4-0 run to open the set, but Gustavus battled back and took a 10-8 lead. The Wildcats then won five points in a row to retake the lead up 13-10. The Gusties fought but were unable to cut their deficit to less than two points the rest of the set. Up 19-17, St. Kate's closed out the set with a 6-0 run to take it 25-17 and even the match up at 1-1.
The Wildcats led 6-3 early in the third set, but then a five-point run for Gustavus put them up 8-6. St. Kate's responded by winning four in a row to go up 10-8, but the Gusties found another level and won nine consecutive points to take a commanding 17-10 lead in the set. Gustavus closed out the set 25-18 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Tied 7-7 early in the fourth, the Gusties broke the stalemate with a quick 4-1 run to take an 11-8 lead. St. Kate's won back-to-back points to climb back to within one point down 11-10, but that was the last time the Wildcats won two or more points in a row the rest of the match. Gustavus reached match point up 24-16 and while St. Kate's staved off one final point, a kill by
Lauren Barker secured the set 25-17 and the match 3-1 for the Gusties.
Kyra Johnson led the Gustavus attack, recording 12 kills on .370 hitting.
Sahara Morken led the offense with 34 of the Gusties' 39 assists. Avah Hahn had a team-high 14 digs in the win.
Up next for the Gusties is a trip up to Minneapolis on Friday, October 2 for another conference match, this time against Augsburg University at 7:00 p.m.
