Angela Ahrendt goes up for the block. (photo courtesy of SportPix)
The Gustavus volleyball team opened MIAC play by defeating Macalester College by the score of 3-1 in St. Peter on Wednesday night. Set scores for the match were 25-13, 22-25, 25-6, 25-19. The Gusties, who improved to 4-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play will host Bethany Lutheran in a non-conference contest on Friday night at 7 pm at Gus Young Court.
Head Coach Rachelle Dosch was pleased with the team’s performance. Dosch stated, “We simply got better tonight. The players took the concepts we have been teaching in practice and executed those concepts in the match.” She added, “We were ready to play from the start and maintained our focus throughout the match. When we do that, the result of the match will take care of itself.”
Nicki Ainsworth (photo courtesy of SportPix)
Angela Ahrendt led the Gusties on the attack as she registered 14 kills in 24 attempts for a season-high .458 attack percentage. Nicki Ainsworth turned in a solid all-around performance as she contributed 10 kills, four aces, an 17 digs. Ainsworth also reach a significant career milestone in the match as she reached the 600th career kill plateau with her third kill of the night.
The Gusties also registered some impressive team statistics in the match posting team highs in attack percentage (.245), aces (9), and digs (47).