MOUNT VERNON, Iowa. – The Gustavus volleyball team traveled to Iowa for the opening matches of the Cornell tournament on Friday night and came away with a pair of wins; 3-0 over Cornell College and 3-1 over Wheaton College. With the wins, the Gusties move to 6-1.
The Gusties entered the first set trailing in the opening half. With the Rams ahead on a 14-10 lead, Gustavus called a timeout to regroup. Payton Auseth (Fy., Chaska) turned the tide with a service ace and the Gusties came back to tie it up at 15. Cornell kept the pressure on as the set went to 20-20 before Tweet dominated on the serve for a Gustavus lead. Sarah Elliott (Jr., Lombard Ill.), Holtan, and Madi Kes (So., Jordan) led the attack all the way to the finish line, coming out on top of the first set 25-23.
Gustavus entered the second set finding their stride and winning the first four points. The Gusties stayed on top of a 20-15 lead as Cornell fired back, but the Black and Gold brought the defensive edge for a 25-22 second set win.
Looking to start the tournament on a three set win, the Gusties rallied with an impressive 10 point lead, and secured the 25-18 final after a service ace from Embacher and a kill from Kes.
Hailey Embacher (Sr., Mankato) had a team high 14 digs, while Kate Holtan (Sr., Rochester) recorded 16 kills. Kasie Tweet (So., Adrian) finished the match with 37 assists.
Gustavus kept the momentum going taking an early 12-5 lead over the Thunder in the first set after a six point run. Wheaton tied it up at 14, and put up a two point lead. Elliott and Sydney Olson (Jr., Willmar) responded accordingly with two blocks to take back the Gustie edge. The Thunder fought back to a 21-21 score but Gustavus pushed ahead to win the first set, 25-23.
Bringing the heat in set two, the Gusties maintained a four point lead for the majority of the middle frame and dominated with a six point run to take a 25-18 second set win.
Gustavus was faced with a challenging third frame, playing catch up to a three point Wheaton lead for most of the set. The Gusties evened the score up at 11, but the Thunder went on a six point run of their own to take away the sweep.
The Gusties got gritty in the final set, staying on top of an early 10-5 lead and maintaining it all the way to a 25-19 finish for the 3-1 win over Wheaton. Kes led the team with 14 kills while Tweet had 36 assists. Embacher finished the night with 26 digs.
Gustavus is back in action on Saturday morning with a 10 a.m. match against Coe College.