The Gusties show off their pink uniforms before the Bethany match.
The Gustavus volleyball team looked strong in all phases of the game on its way to a convincing 3-0 win over Bethany Lutheran College on “Dig Pink Night” on Gus Young Court at Gustavus. The game scores were 25-16, 25-17, 25-18. The Gusties wore pink uniforms to show their support for breast cancer awareness and raised money in support of a cure for the disease. Janey Helland led the Gustavus attack with 16 kills, while Erin Sherman led the defensive effort with 17 digs. Gustavus improves to 10-14 overall, while Bethany falls to 3-13.
Janey Helland (#9) celebrates with Erin Sherman (pink jersey).
In the first set, Gustavus jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, and then quickly extended its lead to 19-10, before closing out the set by a score of 25-16. Helland and Olivia Warren led the way with four kills each.
In the second set, the Gusties trailed 6-8 early, but then went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. After the Vikings snapped the 8-0 run, Gustavus countered with a 6-0 run to increase its lead to 20-9 and then held on for the 25-17 victory.
In the third and final set, Gustavus held a slim 10-8 advantage until an 8-3 run gave the Gusties a solid 18-11 lead. The Vikings would battle back to pull within four at 22-18, but Gustavus scored the final three points to claim the set 25-18 and close out the match 3-0.
Malea Noennig recorded 42 set assists, which is a season high for her in a three-set match. Janey Helland also posted season high marks for kills (16) and attack attempts (34) in a three-set match. The Gusties also set a season high mark for team kills (52) in a three-set match.
Middle hitter Angela Ahrendt goes up for a kill.
Gustavus will return to conference play this weekend with a match at Concordia on Friday at 7:00 pm and a match at St. Ben’s on Saturday at 3:00 pm.