Volleyball 9/22/06 -- Gustavus Adolphus 3, Augsburg 1 (30-25, 24-30, 30-27, 30-28)

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (9/22/06) -- Jennifer Thelemann (Jr., Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson HS) led all players with 19 kills, adding three blocks and eight digs as her Gustavus Adolphus College volleyball team held off host Augsburg College in four games Friday night, in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball match at Si Melby Hall.

Gustavus claimed its fifth straight victory to improve to 11-3 overall, 3-0 in MIAC play. Augsburg dropped to 6-7 overall, 1-3 in league play.

Andrea Kron (Jr., Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori HS) added 18 kills and Danielle Gimmestad (Fr., Marshall, Minn.) added 13 kills and five blocks (one solo) for the Gusties. Libero Emily Klein (So., Red Wing, Minn.) contributed 32 assists.

Augsburg was paced by middle hitter Katie LaGrave (Jr., Okinawa, Japan/Kadena HS), who had 15 kills while hitting a match-high .414 (three errors in 29 attempts). Dani Boner (So., Omaha, Neb./Mercy HS) claimed her fourth kill-dig double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs, while Barbara Simmons (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) had 13 kills and two blocks (one solo), and Sarah Bradley (Jr., International Falls, Minn.) had 12 kills and nine digs.

The Gusties hit .235 as a team in the first game, claiming 20 kills to hold off a late Augsburg rally. Thelemann had eight kills in the first game, hitting .429.

Augsburg led from start to finish in the second game, leading by as many as eight points during the set. Boner had five kills and La Grave had four kills for the Auggies in the second game.

Augsburg rallied from a 21-17 third-game deficit to tie the game at 27-27, but the Gusties took advantage of a service error and two attack errors, along with a block by Gimmestad and Thelemann, to score the final three points of the game to take a 2-1 match lead. Kron had seven kills for the Gusties in the third game, while Thelemann had five kills. Bradley had five kills for Augsburg in the game.

In the fourth game, Augsburg took an early 14-9 lead, but Gustavus rallied back to tie the game at 24-24 and pull away in the final moments. Gimmestad and Thelemann had two kills apiece for the Gusties' final four points of the match. Kron had six kills for the Gusties in the fourth game, while Gimmestad had five kills. Simmons had six kills for Augsburg in the set, with LaGrave adding five.

Bridget Burtzel (So., Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori HS) had 44 assists and 13 digs for the Gusties, while Jessica Plemel (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.) had eight kills and 16 digs, and Jessi Weber (Fr., Osceola, Wis.) had 13 digs. Gustavus had eight blocks as a team in the match.

Augsburg's Julie Jenkins (So., Edina, Minn.) fell three kills short of a triple-double, contributing seven kills, 30 assists and 11 digs, to go along with a block assist. Shanna Reed (Fr., Eagan, Minn./Holy Angels HS) had 22 assists, eight digs and two service aces, and Haley Bower (Jr., Brainerd, Minn.) had 25 digs and two service aces.

Both teams return to MIAC play on Saturday (9/23) at 3 p.m., with Augsburg hosting St. Thomas and Gustavus playing at St. Catherine.