Courtesy of Midland Athletics
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – Midland University hit the road for a conference matchup with Dordt University on Saturday. The No. 17-ranked Warriors picked up an important four-set win over the Defenders; 25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 25-23; to move a game above .500 overall and in conference play. Midland’s record moves to 10-9 overall and to 6-5 within the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC).
The opening set of the match saw six ties and a pair of lead changes inside De Witt Gym. Midland took the first three points before Dordt battled back, taking the lead at 8-7 in the middle of a four-point run. After ties at 11, 12, and 13, the Warriors used a five-point rally to seize control of the set. Timeouts by the home team slowed the outcome but it was MU taking the set 25-21 behind a .212 hitting percentage on the attack.
In the second, neither side could get separation as there were another five ties through the first 18 combined points. Three straight points for the Warriors, two coming via service aces from Brena Mackling, put them in the driver’s seat as they cruised to a 25-17 win. Jacki Apel had a big set with four kills as Midland saw a match-best .361 attack percentage in set two.
Not one to go down without a fight, especially on its home court, the Defenders responded in the third. They used a handful of micro-runs to go up 6-4 and then after Midland matched them at 6-6, Dordt scored seven of the next eight points to go up 13-7. They held off a late surge by the Warriors as their lead shrunk to one, 21-20, but closed out the set 25-22, to avoid the sweep.
The fourth set saw more back-and-forth action as neither side was able to string more than two points together through the early going. With the Defenders lead 22-19, the Warriors moved into the lead with a 5-0 run to put them on match point. After back-to-back points by Dordt, followed by a timeout, Midland closed out the match via an attacking error, 25-23.
For the match, the Warriors hit .206 as a team with 55 kills. Leading the way was Lauren Williams with 15 while Jacki Apel and Jessie Moss each had 11. At the net defensively, MU had eight total blocks. Getting a hand in on five was Lauryn Samuelson who had three solo stuffs.
In the back row, three players reached double-digit digs. Kailyn Scott led the way with 14, followed by Delanie Vallinch with 13 and Brielle Power with 11. Power added 22 sets assists for her first career double-double. Brena Mackling led the way with 25 set assists and added a career-best 5 ace serves.
“I was really pleased with how our team played on the road today,” commented head coach Paul Giesselmann. “I thought our passing was really good and even though we made some errors in games three and four, I liked how our players stayed focused down the stretch. Dordt is a tough place to play and we’re happy to get the road win.”
Midland (10-9, 6-5 GPAC) will be on the road next as they travel out to take on Hastings (8-13, 3-9 GPAC). The midweek match is set for a 7:30 p.m. first serve inside Lynn Farrell Arena in Hastings on Wednesday night.
