DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Gustavus volleyball started their second weekend of action on Friday and played two matches, falling to Wartburg 3-2 before dropping the second contest to Loras 3-1. With the results the Gusties move to 4-2 on the season.
After falling behind in set one 6-4, The Gusties scored 16 of the next 19 points to take a commanding 20-9 lead. Wartburg would score seven of the next eight points to bring the score to 21-16 but the Gusties would score four straight to end the set.
The second set, which saw Gustavus jump out to an 11-8 lead, turned quickly as Wartburg scored eight straight and 15 of the next 17 to go up 23-13 and close out the set 25-15 a few points later. In set number three the Gusties once again claimed an early lead going up 14-10 before Wartburg went on a 11-2 run to take a 22-16 lead. The Gusties would take one more point before the Knights scored three straight to close it out.
The Black and Gold pushed back in set four after falling behind 9-5 early. They were able to string together a few different runs without allowing Wartburg to score more than two consecutive points for the rest of the set, which they took 25-20.
In set five the two teams played even for most of the set, tying the score up nine different times before they reached 11-11. Wartburg built off of their 11th point though, and scored four straight to take the set 15-11 and the match 3-2.
In the match, Kate Holtan (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) led all players with 15 kills while Sarah Elliott (Fy., Lombard, Ill.) put together another strong effort, notching 13 kills for the Black and Gold. Kaylyn Johnston (Fy., Urbana, Ill.) recorded 42 set assists in the match, while four different Gusties had double-digit digs, led by Hailey Embacher (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) with 20.
In match number two on the day, the first set got off to an even start, being tied at 5-5. Loras then used a small run to take an 8-5 lead but Gustavus answered to bring it within one point at 10-9. From that point on though, the Duhawks slowly built upon their lead and Gustavus never pulled the lead within three for the remainder of the set as Loras took it 25-19.
Set two got off to another even start, with the two teams playing even to 11 all. From there out though, the Gusties took over with a strong attack, recording kills on 8 of their last 12 points to take the set 25-17.
In set three the Gusties got off to an 8-4 start early on and held on to their lead for nearly the entirety of the set. The Gusties and Duhawks battled back and forth and eventually tied at 26. With the score tied, Loras took their first lead of the set at 27-26 before scoring on the next point to take the set and the 2-1 match lead.
Set four was much of the same compared to the rest of the match with the two teams playing fairly even to the midpoint of the set before Loras went on a 5-1 run to take a 20-16 lead. The Gusties were able to bring the score within two at 22-20, but the Duhawks were able to close out the set at 25-21 for the victory.
Holtan and Elliott led the Gusties with 13 kills apiece while Annalee Olson-Sola (So., Northfield, Minn.) added 11. Embacher had 17 digs in the contest while Holtan had 14 and Johnston led the team with 23 set assists with Nora Lehmkuhl (Fy., Northfield, Minn.) tallying 18.
The Gusties will continue play Saturday when they take on WashU at 10 a.m. before closing the Invite out with St. Norbert at 2 p.m.