Becca Woodstra led the Gustavus offense with 25 kills on the opening day of the Gustie Invitational.
St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus volleyball team began the 2014 Gustie Invitational with a pair of losses to Buena Vista University and Coe College on Friday, Sept. 12 at Gus Young Court. The Gusties fell 3-2 in their opening match against Buena Vista before suffering a 3-0 loss to Coe to close out the night. Gustavus heads into the final day of competition looking for a turnaround with an overall record of 3-7.
The team will face the University of Minnesota, Morris at 10:00 a.m. and Simpson College a 12:00 p.m. to finish the tournament. UM-Morris enters at 7-3 overall, while Simpson is 4-4.
Gustavus vs. Buena Vista Recap
In the opening match of the tournament, Gustavus jumped all over Buena Vista with wins in the opening two sets by identical scores of 25-21. The Beavers refused to go away quietly and responded with a 29-27 win in a tightly contested third set. The momentum shifted from that point on. Buena Vista took the fourth 25-23 to tie the match at 2-2 and then won the match with a 15-13 victory in the fifth.
Gustavus finished with three players who recorded kills in double-digits including Becca Woodstra (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.), Janessa Jahnke (So., Blue Earth, Minn.), and Alyssa Taylor (Jr., Trimont, Minn.). Woodstra led the way with 18 (.238), Jahnke posted 13 (.258), and Taylor tallied 11 (.250). Gustavus registered 64 kills and hit .243 as a team compared to Buena Vista who turned in 71 kills and hit .178.
Defensively, Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.) led a balanced effort with 19 digs. Behind her was Marisa Morgan (Fy., Rockford, Ill.) with 15 digs, Abby Leitch (Fy., Mankato, Minn.) with 12, and Sammy Kremer (Fy., Lakeville, Minn.) with 11. Morgan did all of the setting and finished with a total of 48 assists in the match.
Gustavus vs. Coe Recap
The Gusties couldn’t get on track in their nightcap against Coe later in the evening. The Kohawks cruised to the sweep via set scores of 25-17, 25-23, and 25-17.
Becca Woodstra was once again the squad’s top offensive performer with seven kills (.133). Alyssa Taylor hit a team-best .250 and finished with six kills.
Paige Breneman led all defensive players in the match with 23 digs, while Marisa Morgan shelled out 24 assists.
As a team, Coe posted a .258 attack percentage with 46 kills. Gustavus hit .102 and had 28 kills.