The Gustavus volleyball team picked up its second straight win with a 3-2 victory over Waldorf on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Laura Westphal - Sport PiX
St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Waldorf College in a non-conference match on Saturday afternoon at Gus Young Court. Battling back from a two set deficit, the Gusties swung the match’s momentum to their bench with a 25-19 win in the third and a 25-20 win in the fourth. In the decisive fifth set, the Black and Gold took control early and never looked back en route to a 15-11 win.
Gustavus earns its second straight win and will head back into MIAC play with an overall record of 6-8. Waldorf drops to 4-11 with the loss. The win was Gustavus’s first five-set victory of the season.
Despite two tightly-contested opening sets, Waldorf was able to take and remain in control late in both frames. The Warriors won the first set 25-23 and the second 25-21.
The Gusties got things turned around when faced with a sweep down two sets in the third. With a 14-12 advantage, Gustavus went on an 8-3 scoring-run to go up 22-15. Waldorf couldn’t recover as the Gusties cut the lead to 2-1 with the 25-19 win.
Alyssa Taylor recorded season-bests in kills with 21 and attack percentage at .594 in the win.
The middle portion of the fourth frame was once again controlled by Gustavus. With a one point lead at 7-6, the Gusties scored nine of the next 12 points to take control up 16-9. Waldorf didn’t go quietly and cut the gap to two on a pair of occasions. With a 21-19 edge, Gustavus finished with 4-1 run to take the set 25-20 and tie the match at 2-2.
Seizing complete control of the momentum, Gustavus jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the fifth. The Warriors came within two points down 9-7 but could close the gap no further.
A terror at the net throughout the afternoon, Alyssa Taylor (Jr., Trimont, Minn.) turned in the squad’s best offensive performance of the season. Taylor hit the floor with 21 kills, made only two errors, and finished with an efficient attack percentage of .594. Her kill total and attack rate are both team/season-bests.
Sammy Kremer (Fy., Lakeville, Minn.) also contributed her best offensive showing of the year to go along with her third double-double in kills and digs. Kremer posted 17 kills and hit .412 while also adding 13 digs.
A total of four Gusties finished with double-figure digs including Abby Leitch (Fy., Mankato, Minn.) with 19, Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.) with 12, and Kendra Weege (Sr., Watertown, Minn.) with 10.
Marisa Morgan (Fy., Rockford, Ill.) ran the offense and finished with 49 set assists – matching her season-high registered on Sept. 13 against Simpson.
As a team, Gustavus finished with an attack percentage above the .200 mark for the first time in five matches. The Gusties totaled 60 kills and hit at a rate of .202.
The Gustavus volleyball team will take a break from non-conference matches for a while as it dives into the heart of its MIAC schedule. Next up for the Gusties is a road match against Carleton College on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 7:00 p.m.