The Gustavus volleyball team opened the conference season with 3-2 battle (29-31, 30-13, 30-25, 28-30, 15-12) over Augsburg in Minneapolis Wednesday night. The match proved to be a defensive test as both squads combined for 288 digs and 26.5 blocks. Three Gusties tallied at least 15 kills to provide a balanced offensive attack in the win. Junior Emily Klein (Red Wing, Minn.) accumulated 48 digs in the defensive effort, while junior Bridget Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn.) tallied 58 assists.
Senior captains Jen Thelemann (Le Sueur, Minn.) and Andrea Kron (Cold Spring, Minn.) tallied 21 and 20 kills, respectively, on the outside. Sophomore Meghan Gehring (Eau Claire, Wisc.) contributed 15 kills for the Gusties in the middle. Klein set a new Gustavus record for digs in a match with 48, topping the mark she set last year at 46 digs against Saint Benedict.
Gustavus will continue conference play Wednesday, September 19 versus St. Olaf in St. Peter at 7:00 pm. Augsburg travels to the University of Chicago Friday, September 14 for the Gargoyle Classic.