PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Coming off two wins Friday evening, the Gustavus volleyball team rolled its momentum into Saturday afternoon, claiming victories over Connecticut College and Roger Williams to finish the Johnson & Wales Tournament 4-0.
The Gusties defeated Connecticut College 3-1 and Roger Williams 3-2 to improve to 6-2 overall on the season.
“Today was a bit of a slow start but we worked through it and won in four sets in our first match,” Head Coach Rachelle Sherden said. “A lot of players contributed again in that match. The last match was a battle and Roger Williams is a tough team.”
Alyssa Taylor (Sr., Trimont, Minn.) was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player along with Lizzie Ahern of Amherst.
Gustavus 3, Connecticut College 1
The Gusties defeated Connecticut College by set scores of 25-15, 21-25, 25-11 and 25-15 to start the day. Taylor led the offense with 13 kills on 23 attacks and one error for an attack percentage of .522. Nora Holtan (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) contributed 21 assists.
On defense, three Gusties recorded double digit digs – Abby Leitch (So., Mankato, Minn.), Brittany Luethmers (Fy., Prior Lake) and Marisa Morgan (So., Rockford, Ill.) with 15, 14 and 13, respectively.
No play-by-play stats available for this match.
Gustavus 3, Roger Williams 2
The Gusties beat Roger Williams in five sets by scores of 16-25, 25-17, 25-27, 25-17 and 15-10.
In the opening set, Gustavus fell into an early 8-3 deficit and couldn’t crawl out of the hole. The offense had trouble getting a clean attack, posting a -.207 kill rate (5-29, 11 errors).
The Gusties put the bad first set behind them and responded with an eight-point win in the second. The Gusties and Hawks battle back and forth to start the set with an 8-8 tie after 16 volleys. Gustavus then went on a 5-0 run – highlighted by three straight kills by Becca Woodstra (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.) – and never looked back. The Black and Gold closed out the set on an 8-2 run and posted a match-high .379 team attack rate (16-29, five errors) in the second set.
The third set was played evenly throughout as the Gusties and Hawks never played outside a three-point difference. Gustavus played from behind for most of the set, but finally took its first lead at 19-18 on a kill by Woodstra. Roger Williams took it right back, though, and never trailed the rest of the set.
The Gusties came out on a hot streak to start the fourth set, beginning on a 15-3 run. Hanna Albers (Fy., Webster Grove, Mo.) had a string of three consecutive service aces and four total during the run. The Hawks bounced back and came within six points at 22-16, but Gustavus closed it out on another kill by Woodstra.
In the fifth set, the Gusties once again started hot, scoring the first five points and going on an 8-1 run. Roger Williams won six of the next nine volleys, but was unable to erase the deficit as Gustavus came out on top 15-10.
Woodstra led the way offensively, going 15-for-32 on the kill with four errors for a .344 attack percentage. Taylor and Kelle Nett (Sr., Spring Valley, Ill.) also posted double digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Holton recorded her first career double-double with 42 assists and 11 digs. Luethmers led the back line with 14 digs.
“It was a growing weekend for our team and we look forward to getting back into the gym next week to prep for our conference opener against Bethel and home tournament Saturday against Luther and UW-Stout,” Sheden said.
Gustavus is on a six-game win streak and is now 6-2 overall. The Gusties begin Minnesota Intercollegiate Conference play at Bethel University at 7 p.m., Sept. 16.
Johnson & Wales All-Tournament Team
Emily Kalmink – Johnson & Wales
Maggie Danner – Amherst
Hannah Maymon – Bridgewater State
Alex Mcdevitt – Connecticut College
Abby Leitch – Gustavus Adolphus
Elizabeth Flaherty – Roger Williams
Sam Higgins – Salve Regina
Brittany Steele – Western Connecticut State