Gusties narrowly beat MLC

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Momentum really is a cruel mistress.

Twice the Martin Luther Knights rode momentum back into the match. Twice momentum deserted them.

Fighting off the Knights' last rally, Gustavus Adolphus decisioned MLC 30-20, 30-18, 17-30, 28-30, 15-11 Thursday night in nonconference volleyball.

"We came out very slow tonight," MLC coach Drew Buck said. "We hadn't been home in awhile and had a large crowd. I think we came out trying to do too much too soon. After we figured out we could play with them, it made it a different ballgame, obviously."

It was obvious. The Golden Gusties (7-12) were cruising. Their hitters devastated the Knights' defense in the first two games, and with little effectiveness in the transition game, the MLC offense was at best erratic.

But MLC (19-10) got its offense going in the third and fourth games. Momentum was on their side.

And then it wasn't.

Gustavus started the fifth game with seven straight points on the serve of senior Chrissy Homeier, getting three kills in the run from outside hitter Pat Lawton. A soft kill by Rebecca Kramer ended the Gusties' run, but the Knights didn't seem to have anything left.

"I wish I knew what happened," said MLC setter Annie Uecker, who had 22 set assists for the Knights to along with Becky Bertolus' 23 assists. "Our passing wasn't there, that was obvious."

But slowly MLC scrapped back. The Knights took advantage of a pair of Gusties' hitting errors to get within 9-5.

Momentum had returned for the Knights.

A Tiffany Wendt kill cut the MLC deficit to 10-7. But then a controversial four-hit call nullified a point that would have cut the Gusties' margin to just 10-8.

Instead it was 11-7. An ace by Red Rock Central-ex Rachel Batalden gave Gustavus a 12-7 lead.

Momentum had shifted again. And this time, the Knights couldn't bring momentum back onto their side of the court.

Nicole Nesseth finished off the Knights with her 14th kill of the match.

"It was just too big a hole to get back from," Uecker said.

In the first two games, the momentum belonged to the Gusties. New Ulm High-ex Jessica Schaetzke banged four kills in the first game, two in a 12-3 Gustavus run to open the match. The sophomore outside hitter, who finished with 14 kills in the match, slammed back-to-back kills to the Knights' back row later in the first game that halted a Knights' mini-rally and gave Gustavus a 22-13 lead.

The Gusties picked up five of their last eight points on MLC errors. The other three points came from Batalden; the freshman setter scored twice on misdirection tips into vacant areas of the MLC defense, including the game-winner.

The Knights started the second game with five points on the serve of freshman Bethany Bauer, But Gustavus ran off the next 10 points, getting a pair of kills each from Nesseth and Lawton in the run.

Gustavus pulled away from there. Schaetzke got all three of her kills in the game in the Gusties' final run, including the game-winner.

MLC again got out quick in the third game, and this time the Knights didn't waste their advantage. Kramer, held to only three kills in the first two games, began to assert herself in the middle.

"I just started to play," Kramer said. "The pass was there, the set was there. They made my job easy."

The 6-foot senior, who had a match-high 22 kills, started the third game with a kill to the Gusties' front row off a quick set from junior Becky Bertolus. Kramer's second kill of the game gave MLC a 5-1 lead.

"All of a sudden, we had momentum," Uecker said. "We were talking more, we were communicating better. We were attacking, we weren't back on our heels."

Kramer delivered another kill that put the Knights up 13-8, a lead that wasn't threatened. Kramer sent the match to a fourth game when she stuffed the Gusties' Batalden for game point -- one of her match-high nine blocks.

The fourth game was tied eight times -- the last time at 24. Kramer recorded three kills as the Knights pulled away from the Gusties.

A kill off a quick set eluded the Gusties' Sue Dailey to give MLC a 27-24 margin. Kramer's second gave the Knights a 28-25 lead, and the third through the block of Nesseth pulled the Knights within one point of tying the match at two games each.

MLC forced the fifth game when Becky Bertolus stuffed Schaetzke. But the momentum was fleeting.

"Momentum is huge, isn't it? Buck said. "It's huge."

MLC will host Northland at 1 p.m. Saturday.