Photo Courtesy of SPX Sports | David Faulkner
EAU CLAIRE, Wisc. – The Gustavus volleyball team won in its opening round of matches on Friday night in the Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament; 3-2 over UW-Oshkosh and 3-0 over Lakeland. With the wins, the Gusties move to 10-1 overall.
The Gusties started the first set tied 10-10 against UW-Oshkosh where it remained for the next four points. The Titans climbed their way to a four point lead but three straight Gustavus kills brought it to a one point set. After a close finish, the Gusties came away with the first set in a gritty 30-28 finish.
Similar to the first set, both teams kept the score tied until an eight point run gave the Gusties an edge. UW-Oshkosh responded but couldn’t make up the deficit as Gustavus won the second frame 25-21.
The Titans found their stride in set three and put up a 7-0 lead that the Gusties struggled to catch up to, as they made it a 2-1 match. Neither team could put up more than a two point lead for the majority of the fourth set, but Oshkosh stayed on top a serving advantage at the finish line to force a fifth set.
In the final set, both squads pulled out every stop in a back and forth battle. Kylee Cox (Sr., Brooklyn Center) remained strong on the serve to tilt the game in the Gusties favor as they won in a 15-12 closing set.
Kate Holtan (Sr., Rochester) led the team with 13 kills and 16 digs while Kasie Tweet (So., Adrian) recorded 39 assists.
Gustavus entered the first set with a blowout 13 point lead to win 25-11.
The Muskies battled back in set two with an 11-9 score before the Gusties answered with a five point run to win the second frame. The third set proved to be the most challenging tied at 10, until Gustavus tacked on a six point run with a 25-18 nightcap finish to sweep in three sets.
Hailey Embacher (Sr., Mankato) had a team high 13 digs while Nora Lehmkuhl (Jr., Northfield) tallied 18 assists.
The Gusties are back in action on Saturday morning when they face off against St. Norbert at 11:30.