Morningside Volleyball 2019: One for the record books

Morningside Volleyball opened the season on a strong note, going 4-0 at the KCAC Fall Fling. The Mustangs were tested early, with no. 25 Ottawa University and receiving votes Kansas Wesleyan University both on the schedule for the second day of the twoday tournament.

Morningside quickly powered past McPherson College and the University of Saint Mary in a pair of 3-0 victories in Friday volleyball action before going toe-to-toe with no. 25 Ottawa University in their Saturday morning matchup. The Mustangs started slow against Kansas Wesleyan before adjustments could be made for the remainder of the match. Morningside went on to convincing wins in sets two and three, and sealed the perfect weekend in set four.

“This weekend we saw what we need to work on, especially with blocking,” coach Beth Donnelly reflected. “The offense found some fluidity that wasn’t as developed in the preseason. The team proved to be versatile, transitioning from one offense to another without much of a hitch.”

The second week of the season saw the Mustangs compete in the GoSarpy Labor Day Classic. The Mustangs had little trouble with Rocky Mountain, before, on short rest, holding the Lourdes University Gray Wolves to less than 20 points in two of the three sets.

Day two opened with a morning match against the no.23 Westmont Warriors, the same team that handed Morningside it’s last loss in 2018.

Westmont came out swinging, taking set one easily, before Morningside came to life and took set their only set of the match.

The Mustangs didn’t let the young season’s first loss hold them back, and quickly bounced back with a 3-0 victory over College of the Ozarks. Morningside held the Bobcats to fewer than 20 points in each of the three sets.

“I am really pleased with the outcome of this weekend’s matches. I think we learned a lot,” analyzed Donnelly. She continued, “I think the loss to Westmont really woke up our girls and allowed them to realize that we are a high caliber team that needs to show up and play at a high level every opportunity we get.”

The Mustangs were set to carry a 7-1 record into the start of conference play.

Morningside’s Great Plains Athletic Conference opener hosted the Flames from College of Saint Mary, a match that would prove that the GPAC was going to be as competitive as ever this season. CSM took Morningside to five sets and walked away the victor after a 17-15 deciding set, fighting off a Mustang squad that took a 2-1 lead after the first-set loss.

“I think that we were outsmarted more than outplayed,” deduced Donnelly. “We played tough, we just did not adjust.” She added, “I have to give props to Britt Olson, she had a great match tonight. It’s almost like she found a different level tonight with the aggressiveness. Setting her in the middle, she was cutting balls left and right.”

It didn’t take long before Morningside had a chance to bounce back, as they faced Dakota State University two days later. The Mustangs attacked the Trojans, serving aggressively and spreading the attack across multiple hitters.

“We were serving a whole lot tougher tonight than we have been,” explained Donnelly after the match. “Passing was a little up and down, but when we were on a roll offensively, we were pretty stinking good. There are still some bumps in the road, but I did like to see that when we got down early, we fought back and didn’t panic.”

The following week saw Morningside lose a close three-set match against no. 9 Midland University at home, then take their first GPAC road trip of the year, losing in straight sets at Doane. The Mustangs were 8-4 and 0-4 in the GPAC after a 7-1 start to the season.

“We need to clean up our side of the net,” said Donnelly after the Midland loss. “I think it’s pretty obvious that we can hang with a top-ten team. We consistently do it, but when you’re playing that high level of competition and you have that many unforced errors, it’s not going to end your way.”

Homecoming week had arrived and featured Morningside matches against Concordia University and Hastings College. Both promised to be hard fought matches.

“Preparing for this game we made it a point to focus on the little things and taking it ball-by-ball instead of looking at the end goal,” explained senior middle blocker Emma Gerber ahead of the Concordia match.

Brittni Olson, also a senior middle blocker, agreed.

“After lifting this week, coach Jung talked to us about focusing on one set at a time,” she added. “I think that was huge to help us focus. We were very hungry to get back out on the court and prove ourselves.”

The Mustangs dialed up the energy in set one, working efficiently on offense and adapting well on defense to limit Concordia to just two kills.

Morningside held off Concordia’s attempts to take set two, claiming the victory, but dropping set three. The Mustangs bounced back to close things out in set four, securing their first conference win.

“The atmosphere on the court was insane! Having everyone on the court, giving their all the entire time, not allowing a ball to drop,” said Olson. Our back row played amazingly and gave our setters good balls to dish to the hitters! We were all clicking well! I’m very proud of how we all played tonight!”

“I think the overall feel tonight was that we were a little more comfortable with our defense and with the discipline of our defense,” explained coach Donnelly.

Morningside opened the Hastings match exchanging blows with the Broncos, but quickly fell behind, due, in part, to errors by the Mustangs.

Set two also went to the Broncos, but in a very different fashion. Morningside kept with Hastings the entire match, taking the lead several times, and forcing Hastings to play to 26, after tying at 24 points each.

Senior setter and team captain Callie Alberico explained how some of the work they’ve been doing in practice came into play in the win.

“We were able to forget about set one because we knew we weren’t playing the way that we wanted to. We knew what we needed to turn around and were able to stay strong mentally and come together.”

The Mustangs found a confidence boost in the locker room between sets two and three, coming out after the break and working Hastings over to the tune of an eight point victory, thanks, in part, to a drop from seven to two hitting errors in the set. Morningside hit .375 in set three, finding the floor for 17 kills in 40 attempts.

Callie Alberico sets a ball for one of her 3,000+ career assists.

Morningside found another level of energy in the penultimate set, with the players on the floor and on the bench feeding off of each other.

“We definitely had a lot more energy coming out of the break. We were bouncing back from errors more quickly. We weren’t letting one point here or there or one mistake affect the one coming up.”

Morningside took the ball in set five, and jumped to a crucial 3-0 lead before Hastings scored. The Mustangs stretched the lead to 8-4 as they switched sides, making it a 13-6 lead before the Broncos reared up. Hastings came back to make it a 13-11 game before Morningside stomped them down, giving up one more point on the way to the 15-12 victory.

Following the match, sophomore libero Kayla Harris commented on the team’s chemistry.

“Our team chemistry was phenomenal,” she explained. “Even when we’re down, we know how to pick each other up. We’re trusting each other a lot more in the back row and trusting our offense to put the ball away.”

The Mustangs were now 10-4 and 2-3 in the conference.

In the season’s sixth week, Morningside played a non-conference match against crosstown rival, Briar Cliff University. They also started seeing conference teams for the second time, visiting Midland University.

The Mustangs knew that Briar Cliff was going to hold back nothing in an attempt to pick up the win. Morningside came up short of the win, as the Chargers took sets one, three, and the deciding fifth set.

Morningside hoped to even the season series when they went to Midland. They made their intentions clear early, taking set one and set three from the hosts.

The Mustangs came out swinging in set five, never trailing in the set, and going on an eight-point run to leave Midland in the dust 12-3. Morningside would give up just two points after switching courts on the way to the 15-5 victory.

“Our serving was a big difference in set five. We were putting pressure on their passers and getting a ton of free balls back so we could set up the offense,” said Donnelly. “Midland is a solid passing team. So for us to rattle them says a lot.”

In the Mustangs’ second bout with College of Saint Mary, Morningside, now no. 25 in the NAIA’s rankings, was made aware that CSM wasn’t going to go without a fight. The two teams engaged in battle from the beginning of set one, with neither team securing a threepoint lead in the set.

The Flames took the next set two, and started set three quickly. Morningside, however, was able to mount a comeback, taking the lead for good late in the set. CSM took set four, and set five went back and forth following the turn. The Flames came out on top in the set, claiming the match 3-2.

Emma Gerber records career kill no. 1,000 at College of Saint Mary.

Morningside picked up a big win over Doane later that week, bouncing back from the previous loss 3-0 and evening the series. Morningside advanced to 12-6 and 4-4 in the conference following the win.

“Today goes to show how much of an impact the mental game plays. Today we were very, very focused. We were calm. We were deliberate,” explained coach Beth Donnelly. “I think that was the big difference that I saw today over the College of Saint Mary or Briar Cliff. We rebounded from our mistakes immediately. We didn’t let them affect the next play.”

A Friday-Saturday trip to Concordia and Hastings was next on the calendar for Morningside. The Mustangs let Friday’s match slip away, losing 3-1 after taking the first set. Two and three could have both gone either way, with scores of 28- 26 and 27-25.

Saturday’s Hastings match was another perfect opportunity for M’side to bounce back. They did so to the tune of a 3-1 win and securing their only series sweep of the season.

“Last night it seems that we always had a quick start, but just couldn’t finish,” Donnelly explained. “I was very pleased to see our resilience in set four and not allowing it to go to set five.”

The Mustangs next capitalized on a chance to get even with Briar Cliff. Morningside had to work for every point, dropping set one before coming back to win three unanswered sets.

“We still have five very tough matches to come. If we want to play in the postseason, we can’t lose any steam. We need to keep pushing,” foretold Donnelly.

Three of those matches were against no. 11 the University of Jamestown, no. 22 Dordt University, and top-ranked Northwestern College. Morningside wasn’t able to pick up a set in any of those appointments, losing all three in straight sets.

The Mustangs were 14-10 following the Northwestern loss, holding a .583 win percentage, short of the .600 required to secure a national championship host berth. They would have to win out to guarantee a spot in the NAIA Women’s Volleyball Championship.

Morningside hosted Mount Marty College for senior night, with the Mustangs honoring the graduating class ahead of a quick 3-0 match in favor of Morningside.

“It was a team win for sure,” reflected Donnelly after the match. “These girls have been playing together for so long, any rotation we were in seemed like it was better than the last. There were lots of laughs and tremendous effort. It was a great way to finish the home portion of their careers.”

Brittni Olson records career kill no. 1,000 against Jamestown.

The regular season for Morningside wrapped up on the road at Dakota Wesleyan University. The Mustangs were able to secure the win in the fourset affair, taking the closing two sets in DWU’s Christensen Athletic Center.

Morningside’s improved 16-10 overall record was enough to secure a spot in the national championship, and 8-8 in the conference gave them the no. 7 seed in the GPAC Tournament.

Morningside’s seniors have capped new career marks in assists (Alberico), block assists (Olson), and kills (Gerber) this season. Sophomore libero, Kayla Harris, has led the conference in digs per set since the beginning of the season, and has eyes to break the 1,000 dig mark at the NAIA Women’s Volleyball Championship. Olson and Gerber eclipsed 1,000 kills each while Alberico surpassed 3,000 assists.

Kayla Harris passes the ball for one of her 964 digs to date.