St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team capped off the weekend with a 1-1 showing on day two of the 2014 Gustie Invitational held Friday and Saturday on Gus Young Court. After jump-starting their day with a 3-1 victory over the University of Minnesota, Morris in the morning, the Gusties suffered a 3-2 loss to Simpson College later in the afternoon.
With a 1-3 record at this weekend’s tournament, Gustavus heads into its MIAC schedule with an overall record of 4-8. The Gusties will open league play on Wednesday, Sept. 17 with a home match against St. Catherine University at 7:00 p.m.
Gustavus vs. UM-Morris Recap
To open Saturday, Gustavus jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-16 win in the opening set. UM-Morris earned a 25-17 win in set two, but Gustavus answered with a 25-21 win in the third and a 25-20 victory in the fourth. The 3-1 victory snapped what was a three-match losing-skid for the Gusties.
Four Gustavus players finished the match with double-figure digs. Abby Leitch (Fy., Mankato, Minn.) led the team with 23, Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.) posted 19, and Marisa Morgan (Fy., Rockford, Ill.) and Sammy Kremer (Fr., Lakeville, Minn.) each had 10.
Kremer registered a double-double with a game-high 13 kills to go along with her dig total. Taylor Trautman (So., Hutchinson, Minn.) hit the floor with 13 kills, while Alyssa Taylor (Jr., Trimont, Minn.) rounded out Gustavus’s top offensive players with 12. Running the offense was Marisa Morgan who distributed a total of 46 assists.
Gustavus recorded 52 kills and an attack percentage of .187, while UM-Morris turned in 41 kills and an attack percentage of .123.
Gustavus vs. Simpson Recap
The Gusties battled to the bitter end yet could not come up with a way to push themselves over the top in their final bout of the weekend. Gustavus won the opening set 25-15 and Simpson tied the match 1-1 with a 25-21 win in the second. The Gusties got back on track with a 25-21 win in the third, but Simpson refused to go quietly and took the fourth 25-18. With the fifth an decisive set tied at 12-12, Simpson scored three of the final four points to win the set 15-13 and match 3-2.
Alyssa Taylor was at the top of her game at the net, finishing with a season-high 22 kills and posting a .385 attack percentage. Behind Taylor was Becca Woodstra (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) with 13 kills, Taylor Trautman with 11 and Sammy Kremer with 10. Kremer put together her second straight double-double with 12 digs on top of her kill total.
Marisa Morgan set up Gustavus’s attackers and finished with 49 assists – her highest total of any match in the tournament.
The Gusties once again benefited from a balanced defensive effort that saw four players finish with digs in double-digits. Leitch led pack with 21 digs, Morgan had 14, and Rachel Mazzola (So., La Crosse, Wis.) contributed 11.
The team totals ended up very similar between the two schools. Gustavus had 60 kills and hit at a rate of .188, while Simpson ended up with 55 kills and an attack percentage of .187.