St. Joseph, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team saw its season come to an end with a 3-0 loss at the hands the College of Saint Benedict in the quarterfinal round of the MIAC Playoffs on Tuesday night at Claire Lynch Hall. The three-seeded Blazers cruised to a sweep via set scores of 25-18, 28-26, and 25-18. Gustavus finishes its 2014 campaign with an overall record of 11-15, while Saint Ben’s advances to the semifinals at 21-8.
Following a sluggish start that saw Saint Ben’s go up 12-6, Gustavus was able to cut the lead to 12-9 with a three point scoring-run. A three point gap was as close as Gustavus would come for the remainder of the set, as Saint Benedict quickly stifled any of Gustavus’s momentum throughout the frame. With a 16-13 lead, the Blazers scored four of the next five points to go up 20-14 and take a firm grasp of the set.
Following a back-and-forth start to the second set, Saint Ben’s went on an 8-2 scoring-run that pushed its lead to 18-12. Despite the deficit, Gustavus refused go away quietly and slowly clawed its way back in. The Gusties scored four straight points to cut the lead to 18-16 and then tallied four of the next six points to tie the frame at 20-20. Although the Blazers grabbed a 23-20 lead, Gustavus battled back to tie the score at 24-24. With the score later knotted at 26-26, Saint Ben’s took advantage of a Gustavus serving error and put the set on ice thanks to a Melissa Koop kill.
The third remained close until the Blazers broke it open with an 8-3 run that put them up 18-11 in the heart of the set. The Gusties made a pair of minor runs from that point on, yet would come no closer than four points for the remainder.
Gustavus’s offense was led by Alyssa Taylor (Jr., Trimont, Minn.) who was one of three players to reach double-figures in kills. Taylor posted 10 kills and made just two errors for a .286 attack percentage. Saint Benedict’s Laura Schmitt and Sophie Stangle also finished with 10 kills each.
The Gustie offense displayed balance from top to bottom as Taylor Trautman (So., Hutchinson, Minn.), Becca Woodstra (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.), Kelle Nett (Jr., Spring Valley, Minn.), and Janessa Jahnke (So., Blue Earth, Minn.) all finished with seven kills.
Defensively, Abby Leitch (Fy., Mankato, Minn.) led the Black and Gold with 13 kills while Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.) finished with 10. Laura Schmitt registered the match’s lone double-double with 14 digs to go along with her kill total. Schmitt’s teammate, Victoria Nass, also ended up with a match-high 14 digs.
Gustavus setter Marisa Morgan (Fy., Rockford, Ill.) distributed 32 assists, while Blazer setter Taya Kockelman shelled out 37.
As team, Gustavus finished with 38 kills, an attack percentage of .208, and 52 digs. Saint Ben’s had 43 kills, a .228 attack percentage, and 62 digs.
The Saint Ben’s volleyball team will now advance to the MIAC Playoff Semifinals where it will face No. 2 seed St. Thomas on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7:00 p.m. in St. Paul.