The Gustavus volleyball team dropped it first MIAC contest of the season 3-0 to seventh-ranked St. Thomas on Wednesday night in St. Paul. The Tommies cruised to a straight-set victory by scores of 25-14, 25-11, and 25-16. The Gusties fall to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in the MIAC, while St. Thomas improves to 9-0 overall and 1-0 MIAC.
The Tommies got off to fast starts in both the first and second sets, jumping out to a 10-4 lead in the first, and leading 10-0 in the second. The Gusties struggled at the nets in the early go, recording an uncharacteristic .047 attack percentage in the first two frames.
Gustavus trailed 9-8 in the third set before a Taylor Cross kill sparked a 9-to-2 run that put the Tommies up 18-10. The Gusties couldn’t recover from the deficit, as St. Thomas cruised to the nine-point win.
Jessica Grill and Olivia Warren led the Gusties in kills with five each. Kelsey Florian delivered a team-high 12 assists, while Paige Breneman recorded nine digs.
Leading the way on the attack was St. Thomas’ Taylor Cross who put down a game-high 10 kills and recorded an attack percentage of .350. Kaitlain Wachter turned in 19 digs to lead all defensive specialists.
The Gustavus volleyball team will be back on the court this weekend at the Bethany Lutheran College Tournament held in Mankato, Minn. on Sept. 16-17. The Gusties will kick off the tournament against the University of Dubuque on Friday at 4:00 p.m.