Simpson rolls to 3-1 mark at Gustavus Invite

ST. PETER, Minn. – Haley Danforth earned a spot on the all-tournament team and the Simpson volleyball team picked up three wins at the Gustavus Adolphus Invitational over the weekend.

After collecting just 12 wins in 2012, a much-improved Simpson team moved to 7-1 at week's end. The Storm lost to Augsburg (3-0) in Friday's first match before picking up wins over UW-River Falls (3-2), Bethany Lutheran (3-0) and Gustavus Adolphus (3-1).

After battling through injury most of last season, Danforth looked to be in full form in St. Peter, leading the team with 45 kills and hitting .337, the third-best hitting percentage at the tournament. Tabitha Blaser and Kat Wetjen added 35 and 34 kills, respectively, Katie Kieffer collected 137 assists, Kim Rogers had 52 digs and MacKenzie McGraw had eight blocks.

Augsubrg 3, Simpson 0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-20)
Ashler Peper had 18 kills and hit .531 for the Auggies, who received votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll. Danforth had eight kills and hit .400 in the loss.

Simpson 3, UW-River Falls 2 (22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 15-11)
Danforth had a match-high 17 kills and hit .371 to lead Simpson in the comeback win. Kieffer handed out 40 assists and Blaser added 11 kills.

Simpson 3, Bethany Luther 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-18)
Morgan Terpstra led the team with 10 kills and a .562 hitting percentage in Simpson's route. Blaser had nine kills and Danforth added eight.

Simpson 3, Gustavus Adolphus 1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21)
Four players tallied double-digit kills for Simpson led by freshman Kat Wetjen's 15. Danforth added 12 kills, Blaser 11 and McGraw had 10 and four blocks. Kieffer finished with 49 assists.

Simpson opens Iowa Conference play when it hosts Buena Vista on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m.