SAN ANTONIO, Texas. – The Gustavus Adolphus College volleyball team battled the No. 2 nationally ranked Trinity University Tigers and the Schreiner University Mountaineers on Saturday in the final day of the Trinity National Invitational. The Gusties fell 3-0 in a closely contested match with the top-two ranked Tigers and then swept the Mountaineers to win their first match of the season.
Match One vs. No. 2 Trinity
In the opening set, the Tigers led 8-5 until Gustavus went on an 8-1 run to take a 13-9 lead. The Gusties led by four points up 20-16 late in the set, but then Trinity won four in a row to tie the set up at 20-20. Gustavus worked their way to a 23-22 lead, but the Tigers closed out the set on a 3-0 run to win it 25-23.
Down 4-3 early in the second set, the Gusties caught fire to win 10 of the next 12 points to take a 13-6 lead. Gustavus held a 21-15 lead late in the set, but the Tigers went on a 7-1 run to tie the set at 22-22. The Gusties won the next two points to reach set-point up 24-22, but Trinity responded in kind to tie it up again at 24-24. Gustavus had two more set point opportunities, but the Tigers ultimately took the second set 27-25.
Trinity leap out to an 8-2 lead early in the third set. The Tigers later led 14-8 until the Gusties went on a six-point run to tie the set up at 14-14. Trinity retook the lead up 18-15 but Gustavus again made a run to tie the set at 18-18. The Tigers then won five of the next six points to take a four-point lead up 23-19. The Gusties climbed back to within two points of Trinity down the stretch, but the Tigers took the set 25-22 to complete a 3-0 match victory.
Kyra Johnson led Gustavus' attack with 11 kills on .364 hitting.
Macie Malchow and
Sahara Morken orchestrated the offence with 15 assists each. Defensively, Lanie Barrick led the Gusties with four total blocks and
Ava Hahn had a team-high 18 digs.
Match Two vs. Schreiner
Leading 5-4 in the opening set, the Gusties went on a five-point run to build up some early breathing room, leading 9-4. Gustavus led 18-9 before allowing the Mountaineers to win back-to-back points, and even then the Gusties went on to close out the set 25-13 with a 7-2 run.
Gustavus leapt out to an 8-1 lead in the second set, but then Schreiner won four points in a row to pull back withing three, down 8-5. The Gusties went on to build an eight-point lead up 18-10 that turned into 23-15. With Gustavus just two points away from taking the second set to go up 2-0, the Mountaineers started to come back with a 7-1 run to get withing two points, down 24-22. The Gusties, however, closed the door with a
Logan Brent kill to take the set 25-22 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set saw Gustavus go on an early 5-0 run to take a 9-3 lead. The Gusties lead grew up to nine at 19-10 when Schreiner started to find a rhythm. The Mountaineers went on an 8-2 run to climb back to within three down 21-18, but Gustavus closed out the set with a 4-1 run to take it 25-19 and complete the 3-0 sweep of the match.
Greta Tompkins had 11 kills on .588 hitting and five total blocks to lead the Gusties.
Lauren Barker followed with 10 kills on .364 hitting.
Sahara Morken had 31 assists in the three-set sweep.
Ava Hahn had a team-leading 12 digs.
All-Tournament Team
Following the conclusion of the invitational, Tompkins was selected as a member of the All-Tournament Team in recognition for her performance over the Gusties' three matches.
Up Next
Gustavus will head to Waverly, Iowa for the Wartbug Invite next weekend. The Gusties will open the two-day invitational with a pair of matches on Friday, September 11 starting with Wheaton at 5:00 p.m. and then taking on tournament-host Wartburg at 7:00 p.m.
