Courtesy of Midland Athletics
HASTINGS, Neb. – Coming off a road win on Saturday, No. 17-ranked Midland University went searching for another on Wednesday as they traveled to take on Hastings College. The Warriors, who hadn’t won inside Lynn Farrell Arena since 2019, were able to tame the Broncos in four sets (25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 25-20). The victory moves the Warriors to 11-9 overall and 7-5 within the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) while the Broncos fall to 8-13 and 3-10.
The opening set saw Midland use a five-point rally in the early stages to seize control on the road. After trading points up to 14-9, Hastings went on a 6-1 run to pull even. The Warriors responded with back-to-back-to-back blocks of the Broncos to make it 18-15.
Hastings wasn’t done though as it not only pulled even but took a 22-21 lead. They led 23-22 before a three-point run by Midland closed out the set. Jacki Apel, Abbey Ringler, and Jessie Moss racked up the final three points off assists from Brena Mackling, taking the opener 25-23.
In the second set, the Broncos galloped out early with an 11-7 lead thanks in part to a pair of three-point rallies. MU worked back even on three separate occasions, the last coming at 19-19, before Hastings finished down the backstretch with a 6-2 run to win 25-21.
Set three was closely contested as well. Midland took the first two points before Hastings rallied with three of its own. The teams were even with one another on the scoreboard six times through the first 16 points. Tied at 8-8, Midland used an 8-2 run to take control and never looked back. A kill by Cortlyn Schaefer off an assist from Brielle Power put the Warriors on set point. A combo block by Ringler and Apel sealed the win, 25-18.
After giving up the first two points in the fourth, Midland went on a 9-0 run with Mackling on the service line. In addition to getting up tough serves to the Broncos, she assisted on three kills in the run. Ringler, who finished with a total of 11 blocks on the night, had a solo stuff and an assist in the rally.
Hastings would go on a modest three-point rally after a timeout. Midland cruised to a 22-11 advantage before another surge by the home team. The Broncos used a 7-0 run to narrow the margin but were unable to muster enough to get past the Warriors. A pair of kills from Apel put MU on match point and then an attack error by Hastings closed out the match, 25-20 in set four.
For the match, Midland hit .164 while holding Hastings to a .079 hitting mark. The Warriors had 16 blocks as a team, their second-straight match with 15-plus stops at the net. Behind Abbey Ringler‘s three solo and eight block assists, Jacki Apel had a half dozen blocks, one solo, and five assists.
On the attack, Cortlyn Schaefer led the way with 13 kills on 27 swings (.444). Apel had 12 on 25 attempts (.240), followed by Lauren Williams with 9 and Ringler with 8. Coordinating the offense from the setter position were Brielle Power with 19 assists and Brena Macklingwith 23.
Delanie Vallinch matched her jersey number with 17 digs while Power joined her in double-digits with 10. Kailyn Scott nearly joined them, finishing one dig shy at nine.
“I was really proud of how our team responded when things got tight. This has been a really tough place for us to win,” commented head coach Paul Giesselmann. “Our blocking and defense stepped up in key moments. I thought Cortlyn played a very good match for us. We need to keep working on some things the next couple of days so that we are ready for Mount Marty this weekend.”
Midland (11-9, 7-5 GPAC) will host Mount Marty (10-17, 3-9 GPAC) this coming Saturday as part of Homecoming Weekend. The Warriors and Lancers will take the court at 5:00 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center on October 28 in Fremont. During the set breaks, Midland will recognize this year’s Warrior Athletic Hall of Fame inductees, Lynda (Stokes) Hartman (’89) and the 2013 National Tournament Volleyball Team, as well as 2023 Bracker Award winner, Hope Leimbach.
