The Gustavus volleyball team ended its three-game home stand with a 3-0 victory over Hamline on Wednesday night in St. Peter, Minn. Angela Ahrendt led the way on the offensive with a match-high 16 kills and an attack percentage of .371.
The Gusties improve to 15-6 overall and 5-2 in the MIAC with the victory, while Hamline falls to 8-16 overall and 0-7 in the MIAC.
The Gusties went into the match with the game plan of shutting down Hamline’s top hitter in Sam Greeny-Hamlin. “We didn’t necessarily do that and she [Greeny-Hamlin] had a pretty good night. Hamline did a nice job rallying back and battling throughout the match,” commented Head Coach Rachelle Dosch. “Our game plan was to run our middles in transition as much as we could. We did that and were successful in our execution.
Gustavus took a 1-0 lead in the match after winning the first set 25-14. The Gusties used an 8-0 run up 13-11 to take a 21-11 advantage in the set. Angela Ahrendt recorded three straight kills inside the run.
The two squads traded points until Shelby Nosan took over serve with the score tied 20-20. The Gusties used three straight Piper errors and a kill by Ahrendt to lead 24-0. Hamline scored two-straight points (24-22), yet Gustavus put an end to the comeback with an Ahrendt kill to take the set 25-22.
The early part of the third set played out much like the second with the two teams going back-and-forth. The Gusties used a pair of four-point swings to lead 21-16 and take control. Two late kills by Emily Phillips gave Gustavus the set 25-22.
Paige Brenemen led all defenders with a match-high 19 digs, while also serving at a .947 percentage. Malea Noennig recorded her highest assist total in six matches with a match-high 34, while Emily Phillips hit at a .500 attack percentage, hitting the floor with nine kills.
The Gustavus volleyball team will travel to Oshkosh, Wis. to take part in the UW-Oshkosh Tournament this weekend on Oct. 14-15. The Gusties will take on UW-La Crosse (5:30 p.m.) and Dominican University (7:30 p.m.) on Friday night, and St. Mary’s (11:00 a.m.) and UW-Oshkosh (1:00 p.m.) on Saturday.
“This weekend should be a really competitive tournament. It is going to be tough to make a long bus ride and play on Friday, but right now the momentum is with us and this weekend should set the tone for some strong competition coming up on our schedule,” said Dosch.