MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The second day of the Augsburg Invitational looked awfully similar to the first for the Gustavus volleyball team.
A day after opening the tournament with two sweeps of Pacific Lutheran and UW-La Crosse, the Gusties were back at it during the final day of the event, once again posting back-to-back victories over their opponents.
The Gustavus volleyball team defeated UM-Morris in three sets, cruising to victories of 27-25, 25-17, and 25-11.
Prior to their second match, the Gusties were staring at a ranked opponent — and this one was personal. After all, the Blugolds dealt the Gusties their most recent loss, a 3-1 setback in the 2021 NCAA Regional Championship. The Blugolds would go on to win the tournament, claiming the NCAA title. But Saturday was a different story.
The Gusties started off strong, winning set one 25-19. The Blugolds rallied in set two, beating the Gusties by a score of 25-22. The Gusties bounced back, though, as they went on to defeat the Blugolds in the following two sets by scores of 25-22 and 26-24.
For the second day in a row, Marlee Turn (Jr., Kennedy) led the Gustie attack, posting 12 kills against UM-Morris, two better than Sarah Elliott (Sr., Lombard, Ill.) and Madi Kes (Jr., Jordan). Kasie Tweet (Jr., Adrian) continued to hold the team-lead in assists, adding 28 helpers, while Maren Sundberg (Fy., Eagan) chipped in 12 digs.
Turn paced the offense once again against the Blugolds, delivering 19 kills, while Elliott and Kes both added 12. Tweet and Sundberg both contributed season-best statistics, with 41 assists and 33 digs, respectively, while Turn added 18 digs to the total for her third-straight double-double.
The Gusties, now 7-0, face Northwestern-St. Paul on Sept. 13.