(Photo Courtesy of Midland Sports Information)
Playing for the first time in a week, No. 1-ranked Midland University was able to work through some early struggles as they swept Hastings College on Wednesday night. The Warriors, who vaulted to the top spot in the NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Poll earlier in the day, kept their record unblemished as they move to 15-0 overall and 4-0 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). The Broncos fall to 11-5 on the season and 2-2 in the conference.
Hope Leimbach, the three-time reigning GPAC Setter of the Week, coordinated the Midland attack and finished with a match-high 39 set assists. She also added nine digs defensively.
The Warriors’ attack was balanced with four players getting 20 or more swings at the net. Leading the way in successful swings on the night was Brooke Fredrickson. She had a team-high 11 kills on 21 attempts. Abbey Ringler joined her in double figures with 10 kills while Lauryn Samuelson and Cortlyn Schaefer each had 9 kills.
Back at the service line, Fredrickson and Delanie Vallinch both picked up a pair of aces. Also netting serves with no return were Leimbach and Maggie Sempeck.
At the net defensively, Midland had just seven blocks. Lauren Samuelson had a hand on four of them, including one solo stop. In the back row, it was Taliyah Flores leading the way with 13 digs while Vallinch had 11.
Next up for Midland (15-0, 4-0 GPAC) is a road match against Doane (12-4, 1-3 GPAC). The Tigers will host the Warriors on Saturday afternoon in Crete, Nebraska. First serve from the Haddix Center is set for 3:30 p.m.
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