NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton volleyball team suffered a pair of 3-0 losses at the hands of 18th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College and Grinnell College on Saturday afternoon at West Gym.  The pair of losses came in the Carleton Triangular as the Knights drop to 3-9 overall and 1-1 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Atheltic Conference (MIAC).
 
Match 1 – Gustavus 3, Carleton 0
 
Carleton came out on fire on Saturday afternoon.  The Knights went back-and-forth with the ranked Gusties through the early portion of the opening frame.  Trailing 9-8, Carleton strung together five straight points that sparked an 8-2 run to capture a 16-11 lead.  Four different Knights registered kills in the run.
 
But the Gusties were not ready to go down without a fight.  Trailing 17-12, Gustavus scored four straight points to pull within one.  Three points later, the lead was 19-17 for the Knights before the Gusties scored five straight points to take a 22-19 lead.  Gustavus closed the set with a 25-22 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Gustavus took control of the second set in the early going in set two.  Carleton scored the first point of the frame, but a 13-4 run gave the Gusties a 13-5 lead.  The Knights scored three straight points to pull within five points (13-8), but it was as close as they would come in a 25-13 set two loss.
 
The momentum continued in the third set.  The Gusties jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the early moments and never looked back in a 25-11 win in the third frame to close the match 3-0.
 
Annelise Sokolow (Sr., Draper, Utah/Juan Diego Catholic) led the way offensively for the Knights with nine kills.  Isabel Macia (So., Coral Gables, Fla./Divine Savior Academy) registered 12 assists and Katelyn Harder (So., Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis) posted 10 digs.
 
Match 2 – Grinnell 3, Carleton 0
 
After sitting for a one-match break, the Knights opened up a 4-2 lead in the early going of their second match of the day, capped off by a service ace from Kerrigan Candra (Jr., Plainfield, Ill./Central).  But Grinnell responded with six straight points to spark what would end up being a 16-2 run to take control of the opening frame.  The Pioneers finished off the win by a final of 25-12.
 
Carleton responded early in the second set, climbing out to an 8-6 lead.  Three points later, the Knights led 9-8 when Grinnell scored three straight points to take an 11-9 lead.  But after Carleton scored to cut the lead to one (11-10), the Pioneers exploded to score 10 straight points and take control of the second set, which ended in a 25-13 win for Grinnell.
 
The Pioneers grabbed control from the jump in set three.  A 9-2 lead expanded to 14-4 and eventually 21-9.  But the Knights were not going to go down without a fight.  Trailing 23-11, Carleton put together a 5-1 run to cut the lead to eight, but the final point went Grinnell's way in the 25-16 final to give the Pioneers the 3-0 win.
 
Annika Tuma (Sr., St. Paul, Minn./Central) came off the bench to register five kills and lead the way offensively for the Knights.  Isabel Macia registered nine assists, while Annelise Sokolow and Ella Curtis-Revelle (So., Denver, Colo./North) each tallied nine digs.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will take to the road for it's next match on Tuesday night.  The Knights will head north to Minneapolis to take on North Central University in a non-conference match up that is set for a 7:00pm start.