St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss to the College of Saint Benedict on Saturday afternoon on Gus Young Court. The Blazers picked up the victory by set scores of 25-16, 16-25, 29-27, and 15-19. Gustavus drops to 9-17 overall and 3-6 in the MIAC with loss, while with the win, the Blazers improve to 24-4 overall and 8-1 in the MIAC.
“I’m proud of the way the girls came out and fought today, especially after such a grueling match last night,” said Head Coach Rachelle Dosch. “I know the girls were a little tired, but they played with a lot of fire. We couldn’t finish in the end but a very good weekend overall for this team.”
Saint Benedict grabbed an early lead in the opening set and didn’t look back, taking a 13-9 lead early. After Gustavus brought the score to within two at 15-13, the Blazers scored five straight points to go up 20-13. The Gusties couldn’t recover from the run and Saint Ben’s took the first set 25-16.
The Gusties came out hot in the second set, scoring the first six points on the serve of Shelby Nosan (So., Baudette, Minn.) who recorded three aces inside the run. The Gustavus offense didn’t show any sign of letting up, extending its lead to 11-3 and eventually 19-7. Gustavus recorded 13 kills in the set and hit .393 on the way to a 25-16 win that tied the match at 1-1.
Trailing 8-6 in the third, Gustavus took a 12-8 advantage on a six point swing. The Blazers answered with a four point run to tied the set at 13-13. The Gusties would then build a lead that ranged between two and four points until reaching set point at 24-19. From there, the Blazers cam charging back, using a six point run to tie the score at 25-25. After trading points, Saint Ben’s Alexa Rinde put the set in the books (29-27) with back-to-back kills.
After a tightly-contested open to the fourth set, Saint Ben’s used a 5-1 run to go up 20-15 late. The Gusties scored four of the next five points to cut the lead to two (21-19), yet couldn’t recover completely, as the Blazers scored the final four points in a row to win the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.
Gustavus finished the match with an attack percentage of .173. The offense was led by Lauren Schlobohm (Fy., Faribault, Minn.) and Emily Gilman (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) who together had 21 kills. Schlobohm tallied 11 kills and hit .226, while Gilman had 10 kills and hit .333.
The Gustie defense couldn’t find a way to slow down Lexi Aim who finished with a match-high 21 kills while also recording an attack percentage of .333. As a team, the Blazers hit at a .242 rate.
Gustavus had another solid front row performance with seven blocks as a team. Paige Breneman (So., Sherburn, Minn.) led the Gustie defense with 16 digs, while Shelby Nosan also posted double-figure digs with 12. Taylor Meurer (So., Nicollet, Minn.) set throughout the afternoon, dishing out 30 assists and nine digs.
Gustavus concludes its 2012 home schedule and will now finish the regular season on the road. The Gusties will travel to St. Paul to battle St. Catherine in their next outing on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 7:00 p.m.