[Women's Volleyball] Mustangs Punch Ticket to Heart Championships
Cedar Rapids, Iowa - It was a very eventful night for the Mount Mercy Women's Volleyball Team this evening. Tonight's event started with a Senior Night presentation honoring six Mustangs before the first serve. Tonight's match was a must-win, as the Mustangs would miss the cut for the postseason with a loss. However, with a packed gym and a desire to win not only in the hearts of the seniors but all Mustangs, the team pulled off a spectacular five-set win over the Clarke University Pride 3-2 (25-21, 25-19, 18-25, 16-25, 15-6). With this last regular season win, the Mustangs move to 19-13 on the season and 7-11 in the Heart of America Conference.
In the first set of the night, the Mustangs came out firing as the tempo was set with back-to-back kills by Olivia Coe (SR/Ankeny, Iowa). The set would remain close going back and forth before the Mustangs pulled away to take a six point lead at 22-16 forcing a Pride timeout. Clarke would take a few points back after their timeout resulting in Mount Mercy to take one of their own, but not before the game was ended with two consecutive kills by Maddie Bell (SO/Ely, Iowa). The Mustangs would take set one 25-21 totaling 14 kills hitting an impressive .308 as a team with just two errors and holding the Pride to just a .178 hitting percentage.
On to the second set, the Mustangs were able to carry the momentum from set one into set two jumping out to an early lead. The Mustangs led throughout the entire set and would not look back. The team worked like a well-oiled machine firing on all cylinders. Mount Mercy would once again tally 14 kills on just three errors hitting .297 while holding Clarke to a .091 hitting percentage.
Not ready to go home yet, the Pride came out in set three determined to avoid the sweep. They would jump out to an early lead and hold it for the remainder of the set. The Mustangs would force a 10-10 tie after capitalizing on a couple Pride errors but were never able to take the lead. The Mustangs would drop set three 19-25. As if the stats had done a complete 180 degrees, the Mustangs would total just six kills on the set and were held to a .074 hitting percentage.
In similar fashion, set four would favor the Pride as they rode the momentum from a dominant set three. Jumping out to a quick lead and putting it on cruise control, the Pride were able to take advantage of the nine Mustang errors, which did them in as they were still hitting .220 with 10 kills in the set. As a result the Pride would take set four and force a fifth and final set in front of one of the largest crowds this season.
Not ready to see their season end, the Mustangs would rally in set five as they came out with vengeance. After a service ace from Lauren Stopko (SR/Tiffin, Iowa) and three straight kills by Becca Thomson (SR/Rock Island, Ill.), the crowd roared. The Mustangs would not let up going on multiple runs. Completely trampling the Pride in the fifth set, the Mustangs would go on to win 15-6 with 8 kills and just one error while hitting .350 and holding their opponent to a hitting percentage of .000.
The Mustangs would total 52 kills, 50 assists, 86 digs, and seven blocks. Thomson led the team after having an amazing night collecting a double-double with 17 kills hitting .318 and added 12 digs. Bell was close behind with 12 kills. Kayla Daggett (SO/Madison, Wis.) dished out 45 assists. Stopko took care of the defensive with 28 digs. Leading blocker was Alyssa Weldon (JR/Oxford, Iowa) with four block assists while adding 16 digs.
On Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 7:00 P.M, the fourth-seeded Mustangs will host the fifth-seed Vikings of Missouri Valley College in the Hennessey Rec Center. This match will be one of two first round matches within the Heart of America Conference Championships with the winner advancing to play Saturday, Nov. 3 at the one-seeded Central Methodist University.