The Gustavus volleyball team battled #16 St. Thomas through four games on Wednesday night in St. Peter, but came up on the short end of a 3-1 score. The Tommies siezed a 2-0 lead before the Gusties rallied to win game three. The Tommies clinched the match with a 30-27 win in game four.
The first game of the match was very competitive with ties at 9, 24, and 29. With the match tied at 29-29, the Gusties committed back-to-back attack errors allowing the Tommies to escape with a 31-29 victory.
With the score tied 10-10 in the second game, St. Thomas used a 7-2 run to take a 17-12 lead that they would never relinquish. The Gusties rallied to within three points at 27-24, but kills by Kristin Storrs, Ann Eibensteiner, and Rachelle Dosch gave the Tommies a 30-25 victory.
The Tommies started strong in the third game, and held a five point lead at 13-8. The Gusties came charging back and tied the match at 15-15. The Gusties held a slim 22-20 lead when three straight kills by Becca Thompson extended the Gustavus lead to 25-20. The Tommies would again close to within three at 27-24, but the Gusties held on for the 30-26 victory.
St. Thomas scored the first point of the fourth game, but Gustavus countered with a 5-0 run to take a 5-1 lead. The see-saw battle continued with St. Thomas holding the biggest lead at 21-16. Gustavus rallied to tie the score at 27, however Erika Wetzel and Rachelle Dosch recorded kills to extend the St. Thomas lead to 29-27. The Tommies clinched the match on a Gustie attack error making the final score 30-27.
The Tommies were led by senior Erika Wetzel with 23 kills and a .276 attack percentage, and junior Rachelle Dosch with 23 digs and eight block assists. The Gusties were led by junior Becca Thompson with 17 kills and a .343 attack percentage, and Bridget Burtzel with 28 set assists and 15 digs. St. Thomas improves their record to 8-0 in the MIAC and 20-4 overall, and now leads the all-time series against the Gusties 24-16-1. Gustavus falls to 3-5 in the MIAC, and 12-10 overall.
The Gusties will travel to Moorhead to play Concordia on Friday at 7 p.m. St. Thomas will return home to play UW-River Falls on Friday at 7 p.m.