The Gustavus volleyball team finished day one of the Gustavus Classic Tournament with a 2-0 record. In the first match of the day, the Gusties defeated Martin Luther College 3-0. The scores for the match were 25-20, 25-15, and 25-22. The Gusties continued their strong play, as they defeated Carleton College in game two by a score of 3-0. The scoring for the match was 25-21, 25-14, and 25-20. Gustavus moves to 5-3 overall on the season with the two victories.
Gustavus and Martin Luther stayed close during the first set. With the score 17-15, the Gusties took control with back-to-back-to-back kills by Sam Broderius, Olivia Warren, and Angela Ahrendt to swing the momentum in their favor. They would close out the set by a score of 25-20. In the second set, with the score at 11-10 the Gusties charged ahead and went on a 14-5 run to win the set 25-15. During the run, Ahrendt recorded three kills, while Meghan Gehring chipped in two of her own. In the third and final set, the Gusties trailed 15-18 before rallying back to tie it at 20-20. Gehring and Janey Helland would each add one kill down the stretch as Gustavus won the final set 25-22. Setters Malea Noennig and Sam Broderius combined to assist on 34 of Gustavus’ 38 kills.
Middle hitter Ahrendt led the Gustie attack as she notched 11 kills and one block in the first game. Setters Noennig and Broderius each recorded double-digit assists. Noennig led the Gusties with 18, while Broderius contributed 16. Libero Jenny Ewert added nine digs for Gustavus. Martin Luther was led by Jaime Eternick’s nine kills, eights assists, and six digs.
Gustavus competed against Carleton in the second game of the day. The two teams were evenly matched through the first set, with Carleton never trailing by more than four points. The Gusties, however, refused to let the lead slip, and won the set by a score of 25-21. The second set was similar to the first, as the Gusties tied the score at 3-3, and then took the lead for good, pushing ahead and finishing the set by a score of 25-14. During the second set, Gustavus had a hitting percentage of .357 and recorded 11 kills. In the third set, the Gusties trailed the entire game until tying it late, at 19-19. Gustavus closed the game out strong, as it rode two service aces by Gehring and two kills by Warren to victory, taking the last set 25-20.
In the second match, Helland and Warren each registered ten kills on the attack. Broderius and Noennig combined to tally 29 of Gustavus’ 32 assists; Broderius with 15 and Noennig with 14. Ewert kept the Gusties close with her strong play in the back row, and led the team with 16 digs. Carleton was led by Kelly Lovett’s 11 kills and four digs.
The Gusties will open the second day of the Gustavus Classic on Sunday, September 12 by starting the first match at 10:00 a.m. against York College. The final game of the day will take place at 2:00 p.m. as the Gusties compete against UW-River Falls.