After suffering a 3-0 sweep on its home court to Bethel last night, the last thing the Gustavus volleyball wanted to do was come out flat against Augsburg on Saturday afternoon. No problem there, as the Gusties cruised to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 26-24) victory over the Auggies on Gus Young Court. Gustavus cut its mistakes from last night in half, making just 11 errors and turning in an efficient team hitting percentage of .255. Gustavus improves to 14-6 overall and 4-2 in the MIAC with the victory, while Augsburg drops to 10-6 overall and 4-2 in the MIAC.
With the score tied 4-4 in the first set, a five-point run that put Gustavus up 9-4 behind the serve of Katie Ness would proved to be the lead Gustavus needed. The Gusties didn’t look back and took the set 25-16. Ness had three aces in the set, as Gustavus led by as many as nine points on two occasions.
Feeling the momentum their side, the Gusties were off to a fast start in the second set as well, using a pair of five-point runs to lead 13-4. Jessica Grill led the way with in the frame with six kills. Grill finished the match with her best hitting performance of the season, tallying seven kills for an attack percentage of .583. The Gusties hit the floor with 13 kills and made just three errors for an attack percentage of .400 in the second. Two late aces by Malea Noennig and a kill by Olivia Warren gave the Gusties a 2-0 lead in the match.
The score would be tied on 15 occasions leading up to the 15th point in the third. Back-and-forth the two teams played with the biggest run being two points on either side. Down 14-13 in the third set, the Gusties took advantage of five Auggie errors to make a 7-0 run and lead by six at 20-14.
Facing a 21-15 deficit, Augsburg would not go down quietly, scoring eight of the next nine points to take a 23-22 lead. Gustavus faced set point at 24-23, but an Emily Phillips kill tied the match at 24-24. Paige Breneman took over serve on the side out and closed the game out with two straight points, handing the Gusties the set 26-24.
Gustavus’ front row contributed a balanced attack across the board. Angela Ahrendt led the team with nine kills, while Grill and Olivia Warren both contributed seven. The Gusties served up its second-highest ace total of the season with 12, as Malea Noennig and Shelby Nosan each added three aces to go along with Ness’ game-high four. Noennig also dished out a game-high 32 assists, surpassing the 30-assist mark for the third time in the last four matches. Paige Breneman made a game-high 18 digs, while Shelby Nosan also hit double-digits with a season-high 12 digs.
The Gustavus volleyball team will cap its current three-game road-stand with a 7:00 p.m. match against Hamline on Wednesday, Oct. 12.