Volleyball Takes Down Cornell, Falls to Hope at Triangular

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Gustavus Adolphus College volleyball team opened their second weekend of competition in Iowa in as many weeks with a pair of matches at the Cornell Triangular, taking on the host-team Cornell College Rams as well as the Hope College Flying Dutch. The Gusties took down the Rams in a five-set battle of attrition to start the day. With only a half hour of rest, Gustavus then went right into a match against a fresh Flying Dutch team, falling 3-1 in a hard-fought battle as the Gusties moved to 6-3 overall this season.

Match One vs. Cornell

Gustavus began their day of back-to-back matches against the host school of the triangular: Cornell. In the opening set, the Gusties leapt out to an early 8-4 lead. Gustavus pushed their lead to 14-9, but the Rams then strung together a four-point run to pull within one down 14-13. The Gusties responded by taking five of the next six points to go up 19-14. Cornell started to rally again, getting back to within two points down 21-19, but Gustavus closed out the first set with a 4-1 run to take it 25-20 and go up 1-0 in the match.

The Rams responded in force in the second set, taking an early 9-4 lead over the Gusties. At that point, Gustavus caught fire and won seven in a row to take an 11-9 lead. The Gusties pushed their lead up to 15-12 when Cornell went on a three-point run to tie the set up at 15 all. The two teams traded points until the set reached 18-17 with Gustavus up, but then the Rams found a rhythm and won seven in a row to reach set-point up 24-18. The Gusties won the next three points, but Cornell closed the door with a kill to take the set 25-21 and tie the match up at 1-1.

In the third set, the Rams caught fire. Cornell played their best volleyball of the match to go up 16-5 over Gustavus midway through the set. The Gusties started to rally with a four-point run to pull within seven, but the Rams kept up their momentum and ultimately took the set 25-12 to go up 2-1 in the match.

Gustavus responded with a 5-0 run to open the fourth set and went up 7-2. The Rams then went on a five-point run to tie the set up at seven all. The Gusties worked their way to a narrow 9-8 lead and then they found another gear; winning the next nine points in a row to take a commanding 18-8 lead in the set. Cornell kept up the fight and pulled within five points down 21-16, but Gustavus kept on going and won the set 25-18 to tie the match up at 2-2.

In the fifth set, the Rams took an early 3-1 lead, but the Gusties quickly tied it up at 3-3. Neither team led by more than one point the rest of the final set until the match-winning point as Gustavus and Cornell battled neck-and-neck down the stretch. In the closing stretch, the Gusties trailed 12-11 until a pair of kills courtesy of Logan Brent and Kyra Johnson put Gustavus up 13-12. The Rams then tied the match for a final time at 13-13, but Addison Dirkes brought the Gusties to match-point up 14-12 with a kill and then Johnson sealed the victory with a final kill for Gustavus as they took the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.

Brent led the way with 20 kills for the Gusties on .444 hitting. Greta Tompkins followed with 16 kills on .379 hitting and added four total blocks. Sahara Morken orchestrated the Gustavus attack as the setter, recording 38 assists in the win. Ava Hahn led the defensive backline with 14 digs while also landing a team-high three aces.

Match Two vs. Hope

Following that five-set marathon victory, which was also the sixth win in a row for the Gusties this season, Gustavus went on to challenge a fully-rested Hope team just 30-minutes later. Undaunted, the Gusties opened the first with an 8-2 run to take an early lead. Gustavus built their lead to 12-6 when the tide turned and the Flying Dutch grabbed the momentum. Hope won the next five points in a row and seven of the next eight to tie the set at 13 all. The Gusties landed a kill to retake the lead, but then the Flying Dutch went on another big run, winning seven in a row to go up 20-14. Gustavus pulled with four points down 21-17, but a 4-1 run by the Flying Dutch gave them the set 25-18 as the Gusties fell behind 1-0 in the match.

Gustavus began the second set with another strong start, using a six-point run to go up 8-3. The Flying Dutch again started to rally, cutting the Gusties lead down to one at 11-10. Gustavus held on to the lead as Hope challenged them throughout the middle of the set, never giving up the lead. The Gusties led 21-17 late, but a three-point Flying Dutch run to Gustavus' lead down to one point again. A 3-1 run brought the Gusties to set point up 24-21, though a pair of Hope points brought them to within one again down 24-23. Nonetheless, Gustavus would win the set 25-23 to tie the match up 1-1.

Again the Gusties started a set off strong in the third, going up 13-9. But again, Hope rallied; tying the set up at 14 all. The Flying Dutch trailed 16-15 in the set when they found a groove and won five points in a row, taking a 20-16 lead over Gustavus. The Gusties kept on fighting, taking five of the next six to tie the set up at 21 all. The two teams traded quick two-point runs to reach 23 all, when then Hope got the first set-point opportunity. Gustavus survived to tie the set at 24 all, but then the Flying Dutch won the next two points to take the set 26-24 and went up 2-1 in the match.

Entering their ninth set of the day, the Gusties kept up the fight. Gustavus led 4-1 to start what would be the final set, but Hope counted with a 4-0 run to take a 5-4 lead. Later tied up at 8-8, the Flying Dutch won four n a row to go up 12-8. The Gusties responded with a three-point run to cut Hope's lead down to just one point, but the Flying Dutch maintained their lead and built it up to 21-17. Gustavus strung together another 3-0 run to pull within one down 21-20, but Hope pulled away with three in a row of their own to reach match point up 24-20. The Gusties never gave up the fight, staving off four match points in a row to tie the set up at 24 all, but the Flying Dutch closed out the match with back-to-back points to take the set 26-24 and the contest 3-1.

Kyra Johnson had nine kills to lead the team. Sahara Morken and Brooklyn Sigler guided the Gusties' attack, recording 19 and 13 assists respectively. Sophia Deyak had a team-leading six total blocks. Ava Hahn and Ella Olson tied for the team lead in digs with 14 each.

Gustavus will compete in two more matches in Iowa tomorrow on Saturday, September 19 at the Mable Lee Invite, hosted by Coe College. The Gusties will first battle the St. Norbert Green Knights at 12:30pm and then take on the Lakeland Muskies at 3:00pm.

Volleyball Takes Down Cornell, Falls to Hope at Triangular

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