The Gustavus volleyball team got back on the winning track Friday night by beating Augsburg in three games (30-11, 30-16, 30-18). Gustavus was led by junior outside hitter Jessica Plemel (Owatonna, Minn.) with 14 kills and first-year Bridget Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn.) with 41 assists. Senior Billie Painschab and sophomore Katie LaGrave led the Auggies offensively with five kills apiece. Setter Alexis Johnson had 10 of Augsburg’s 18 assists. The Gusties improve to 8-5 overall and 2-1 in the MIAC, while Augsburg falls to 2-14 overall and 0-4 in league play.
The Gusties came out strong in game one, jumping out to an early 8-2 lead before the Auggies took their first timeout. Coach Kari Eckheart’s squad maintained the lead until first-year libero Emily Klein (Red Wing, Minn.) served 12 straight points near the end of the match to give Gustavus their largest margin of victory in a game this season.
Game two again started well for the Gusties, as junior Jami Moseng (Montevideo, Minn.) served four straight points near the beginning of the game to give Gustavus an early 5-1 lead and momentum that carried them to a 30-16 victory.
The Gusties continued to play well into game three, building leads of 13-7 and 18-11 before the Auggies could respond. A series of attack errors by Gustavus would allow Augsburg to close the deficit to 21-18, but a kill by junior Becca Thompson (Mankato, Minn.) would get the Gusties back on serve with a 22-18 lead. Emily Klein would serve out the game and the match, which ended on a kill by Plemel,
Gustavus will return to the court Saturday as they host the College of St. Catherine at 3 p.m.
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