The Gustavus volleyball team went 1-1 with a 3-1 win over Martin Luther and a 3-0 loss to Northwestern at the Northwestern Invite on Saturday, Sept. 24 in St. Paul. The Gusties move to 11-5 overall and will be back in MIAC play on Thursday, Sept. 29 against Carleton at 7:00 p.m. in Northfield, Minn.
The Gusties took a 1-0 lead on Martin Luther with a 25-16 set one win. An Angela Ahrendt kill with an 11-8 lead sparked an eight-point run that Gustavus used to secure the early 1-0 lead.
Martin Luther bounced back with a 25-18 win in the second set to tie the match at 1-1, coming back from an 11-4 deficit early in the frame.
Gustavus built a four point lead at 15-11 in the third set and didn’t look back, scoring 7-of-8 points with a 17-15 lead to take a 21-15 advantage. A kill by Emily Phillips gave Gustavus the set win at 25-20, giving the Gusties a 2-1 lead.
Gustavus took control up 11-8 in the fourth set, using scoring runs of 7-1 and 8-2 to win the set 25-13.
Emily Phillips and Angela Ahrendt led the way on the Gustavus offensive. Phillips led the Gusties with a match-high 17 kills (.387), while Ahrendt contributed 15 kills (.429) of her own.
Three Gusties recorded double-figure digs. Olivia Warren registered 16, Paige Breneman had 15, and Katie Ness notched 11. Malea Noennig distributed a game-high 37 assists with eight digs.
Gustavus couldn’t get on track in its second match of the day, suffering a sweep at the hands of host Northwestern by scores of 25-14, 25-17, and 25-23.
Northwestern hit at a .316 percentage compared to Gustavus’ .163 in the match. Ahrendt led the Gusties with a match-high 10 kills.