MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris Volleyball team fell in its open match 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-21) to Gustavus Adolphus College then defeated Augsburg University 3-2 (25-13, 15-25, 20-25, 25-23, 18-16)  at the Augsburg Tournament Friday in Minneapolis, Minn.
 
After the pair of matches, the Cougar move to 2-3 on the season.
 
To start match one, points were traded between the teams. Bella Nelson recorded the Cougars' first kill, with Clara Holden setting her up to level the set at five. Allison Dornseif followed that up with a service ace to put UMM back on top. A seven-point rally by the Gusties gave them the largest lead of the set at 14-7. When the Cougars started to gain ground, GAC matched their progress, leading to a 25-18 set win for the Gusties.
 
The start of the second set was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than one point until 13-11. Mary Cate Ziembiec, Ella Johnson, and Anna Molstad contributed points for UMM early in the set. After trailing by two, the Cougars scored three in a row to regain the lead, highlighted by a kill and an ace from Johnson. Down the stretch, GAC pulled ahead 21-18 after three errors by Minnesota Morris. Two errors by the Gusties brought UMM back within one at 21-20, but Gustavus Adolphus closed out the set on a 4-1 run to win 25-21.
 
Ziembiec recorded the first UMM kill of set three. GAC started to pull away, but the Cougars kept them within reach. The Gusties built a 13-8 lead early, but Minnesota Morris began to close the gap. With kills from Ziembiec and Nelson, the Cougars narrowed the deficit to just one. Another surge by GAC restored their six-point advantage. UMM responded with six straight points, fueled by kills from Ziembiec and Johnson and an ace from Johnson, tying the score at 21-21. However, the Gusties ended the match by scoring the next four points.
 
Johnson and Ziembiec led the Cougars offensively, each totaling five kills, with Nelson close behind with four. Dornseif set up nine points, and Holden added eight assists. From the service line, UMM tallied five aces—two by Johnson, and one each by Dornseif, Holden, and Braxtyn Meyer.
 
Defensively, Ziembiec paced UMM with 13 digs, while Holden also reached double figures with 10. Lexi Coon rounded out the top three with nine digs. At the net, the Cougars recorded five blocks, with Meyer registering a team-high three.
Meyer started the scoring for the Cougars in match two on a kill assisted by Holden. Ziembiec followed with two service aces to go up 4-1. Meyer would extend the lead with another kill and two aces to put UMM up 7-2. In a span of four points, Ziembiec would tally three kills to extend the lead. The Cougars continued to connect on attacks. A block by Anna Molstad and Tori Scheler would score the final point as UMM won the first set 25-13.
 
Ziembiec scored the opening point of set two with Holden setting up the attack. The Auggies start to build and early lead on a seven-to-one rally. Minnesota Morris scored the next five points with kills coming from Scheler, Molstad, and Johnson. Points would trade until the set was tied 11-11, but AU would score six unanswered. The lead was too much to overcome for the Cougars as they fall in set two 25-15.
 
Augsburg started set three with the first three points. They held the lead for the first part of the set, but after a Holden ace the Cougars tied the set at 12-12. The Auggies would retake the lead after scoring nine points in a row. The Cougars would go on a five-to-one run, but it was not enough as they dropped set three 25-20.
 
AU started set four with a 7-3 advantage. The Cougars started the chip away at the lead and found themselves only down 12-10. Soon Minnesota Morris would go on a six-point run to take its first lead of the set, highlighted by two aces by Johnson and a kill from Molstad. An ace from Holden put UMM up 20-17. Molstad ended the fourth set with a kill to send it match to set five at 25-23.
 
In set five, AU scored the first two points, but Ziembiec responded with the next two points. After trailing by three, the Cougars answered knotting the set up at 6-6 capped off with a kill from Molstad. The lead would change hands as the target score of 15 got closer. The set was tied at 15-15, Johnson would score off the service to put UMM back in front. Molstad would block an attack to give the Cougars the win at 18-16.
 
Johnson led UMM with 11 kills and Ziembiec and Meyer followed with 10. Holden had a season-high 25 assists. From the serve, the Cougars continue to excel with 15 aces, five coming from Johnson. Defensively, Coon and Johnson had a team-high 18 digs and Molstad blocked five attacks.
 
The Cougars have a short turnaround as they travel to Concordia University (Minn.) on Tuesday for a 6 p.m., match.