The Gustavus volleyball team lost a close three-set match to Concordia Friday night 3-0. Cobber serving proved to be the difference as Concordia had eight service aces compared to one for the Golden Gusties. Bridget Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn.) paced Gustavus with 24 digs to go along with 39 assists. Jen Thelemann led all hitters with 16 kills. Gustavus fell to 15-8 overall and 3-5 in the MIAC. Concordia clinched a MIAC playoff berth with the victory improving to 15-5 and 7-1 in the MIAC.
The match started with both teams trading points in game one before Concordia built a 25-17 lead after a 7-1 run. Gustavus called a timeout, and went on an ensuing 9-3 run to get back into the game down 27-28. Jen Thelemann (Le Sueur, Minn.) and Meghan Gehring (Eau Claire, Wis.) combined for six kills during the run. However, Concordia closed out the set 30-28 on a Dana Wermers kill.
Game two began the same way as game one until the Cobbers went on a 17-9 run to close out the set 30-21. The Gusties struggled to hit during the game finishing with a .091 hitting percentage, while Concordia hit .220.
Coach Eckheart’s squad had a early 14-9 lead in game three, yet Concordia battled back to even the game at 19-19. Gustavus had game point at 30-29, but Erin Sykora recorded a kill for Concordia. The Cobbers went on to score the three remaining points to win game three 32-30.
Gustavus will continue MIAC action Saturday taking on St. Ben’s in St. Joseph, Minn. at 3:00 pm.