Janessa Jahnke led the Gustavus offense with a total of 22 digs and an attack percentage of .273 on the day.
Minneapolis – The Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team picked up its first win of the season, going 1-1 on the opening day of the 32nd Annual Augsburg Invitational being held this weekend at Si Melby Hall. The Gusties were able to hold on for a 3-2 victory over the University of Northwestern in their opening match before suffering 3-0 loss to Wartburg College in their second match. Gustavus will enter the final day of the tournament with an overall record of 1-5.
Gustavus vs. Northwestern Recap
Gustavus earned its first win of the season via a hard-fought, five-set battle against Northwestern. After the Gusties took the opening two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-21, Northwestern battled back with 25-19 and 25-18 wins over the next two frames to tie the match at 2-2. In the fifth and decisive fifth set, Gustavus jumped out to a 5-2 lead after back-to-back kills by Alyssa Taylor (Jr., Trimont, Minn.) and Becca Woodstra (So., Minnetonka, Minn.). The Eagles fought back to bring the set within a point at 6-5, yet Gustavus responded by winning eight of the next nine points to take control and a 14-6 lead. A serving error on Northwestern gave the Gusties the match on a 15-7 fifth set win.
Gustavus’s offense was led by Janessa Jahnke (Fy., Blue Earth, Minn.), Alyssa Taylor, and Kelle Nett (So., Spring Valley, Ill.) who all finished with double-figure kills. Jahnke turned in her finest performance of the year with 13 kills and an efficient .323 attack percentage. Taylor also finished with 13 kills and had a .222 attack percentage. Nett rounded out the group with 11 kills and a .167 attack percentage while also recording three aces and a .950 serve percentage.
Gustavus finished with 57 kills and a team attack percentage of .196 – the squad’s most efficient offensive performance of the season. The Gusties hit above .250 and above in sets one (.268), four (.250), and five (.368).
On the defensive side, Haley Zweber (Fy., Rosemount, Minn.) led the effort with a season-high 21 digs. Paige Breneman (Jr., Sherburn, Minn.) finished behind her with 17 digs, going over the 15 digs mark for the fourth straight match.
Taylor Meurer (Jr., Nicollet, Minn.) handled the setting duties with 39 assists, her second-highest total of the season.
Haley Zweber emerged as a defensive weapon with a season-high 21 digs in Gustavus’s opening match.
Gustavus vs. Wartburg Recap
The Gusties were swept by Wartburg to close out the opening day of the tournament. The Knights earned the three set victory by scores of 25-22, 25-22, and 25-15.
Jahnke led what was a balanced offense for the second straight match. She finished with nine kills and a .208 attack percentage. Behind her was Nett who recorded seven kills and just two attack errors for an attack percentage of .294.
Gustavus registered a total of 36 kills compared to Wartburg’s 34 in the match. The Knights had the upper hand in blocks with nine versus Gustavus’s three.
Paige Breneman finished with over 20 digs for the second time this season, tallying a match-high 21.
Taylor Meurer was once again the primary setter, closing Friday with a total of 26 assists.
The Gustavus volleyball team will cap the Augsburg Invite with a 10:00 a.m. match against UW-Stevens Point and a 2:00 p.m. match against UW-Eau Claire.
The Augsburg College Sports Information Department has created a website to make it easy for fans to follow the live action of the tournament. Augsburg will also be providing live stats for all 16 matches with links available through the tournament website found via the link below
http://athletics.augsburg.edu/news/2013/9/5/vb090613.aspx
Because it’s Augsburg For Adults Weekend on campus, there are parking restrictions on the Augsburg campus. Please follow the link below for the parking advisory.
http://athletics.augsburg.edu/news/2013/1/25/gen-parking.aspx