Mustang
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SATURDAY, OCT. 2
After a nip-and-tuck five-set thriller with crosstown rival Briar Cliff University on Sept. 29, Morningside University concludes its Homecoming Week 2021 schedule this afternoon with a meeting against Dakota Wesleyan University. Head coach Jessica Squier’s Mustangs stand 10-12 overall and 1-6 in the conference. DWU, coached by Lindsey Wilber, enters with a 15-2 record and is 5-1 in league play. The Tigers had their previously perfect loop campaign dashed by Northwestern College midweek.
THE SERIES Morningside has won 27 of the 30 all-time matches. DWU, though, is 2-1 over the last three, including a three-set sweep in Mitchell earlier this month.
THE MATCH-UP Freshman outside hitter Sydney Marlow, who has collected 10-or-more kills in 14 matches this season, leads the team category (225). Sophomore middle hitter Meredith Hoffman and freshman outside hitter Emerson Smith are closing in on joining their teammate in the 200-plus-range. Hoffman sits at 189, and Smith has delivered 184. Other top Mustangs numbers belong to senior setter Sabrina Creason (394 assists/28 service aces), sophomore defensive specialist Payton Shoquist (408 digs), and Hoffman (51 total blocks). Squier’s squad has some good National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ stat listings. The team is fourth in digs (1,384) and 10th in kills (946). Mside closed out the month of September on its schedule in heartbreaking fashion mid-week. It saw a two-set lead over rival Briar Cliff slip away, eventually falling 3-2, with scores of 21-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17, and 15-8, and splitting the season series between the pair of Sioux City schools. Fans of the rivalry knew from the get-go that neither team would go without a fight, as early on in the match, the two sides kept their opponents close. This was possibly best illustrated when the Mustangs came back on Briar Cliff’s set point, snatching set two from the visiting Chargers. It was the Chargers that would have the final word, however, spoiling Morningside’s hopes of a homecoming week victory, as they took sets three and four to force the deciding set. It became apparent that the momentum had shifted as they cruised to a win, taking set five and the match. Morningside’s offense recorded 51 kills in the loss, headlined by Emerson Smith’s 16, followed by Marlow with 14 and Hoffman with 11. The defense was championed by Shoquist, as she recorded 20 digs in the match. Creason and Emerson Smith trailed with 14 each. Morningside’s block was led by Hoffman with one solo and one assist, and freshman outside hitter Kenna Howard added two block assists. Creason recorded 34 assists in the match, leaving 14 for her freshman counterpart, Bridget Smith. The Tigers bring in one of the NAIA’s top offenses. They rank 10th in kills per set (13.84), 12th in assists per set (12.84), and 14th in attack percentage (.246). Sophomore middle hitter Ady Dwight’s 241 kills top the team, while junior setter Madeline Else has turned in stratospheric assist totals (646). Dwight, junior
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