Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – Saturday evening saw 4th-seeded Midland University hosting the 5th-seeded College of Saint Mary in the first round of the conference tournament. The Warriors, who are ranked No. 18 in the nation, used solid defense and passing to get past the No. 8 nationally ranked Flames in four sets (25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19). The victory advances Midland to the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Semifinals where they’ll face top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Northwestern College.
After a slow start, Midland battled back from a 16-12 deficit with a seven-point rally to take control of the set. During the run, the Warriors had a pair of blocks along with kills from Jessie Moss, Jacki Apel, and Lauryn Samuelson. They added another 4-0 run and then exchanged points up to a 25-20 win.
In the second set, MU had to dig itself out of an early hole once again. The Flames were hot with a 6-1 start that burned up to a 10-6 advantage. Things cooled for them though as Midland turned to its defense and passing once again. A three-point swing pulled them within a point (11-10).
Following back-and-forth action up to a 19-16 lead for CSM, Midland went on a 9-1 run to take the second set, 25-20. Moss had a pair of kills in the run and added a block assist alongside Samuelson.
As was expected with two teams that identical conference records, things tightened in the third. Through the majority of the set, neither side could get a separation of more than two points. After a tie at 16-16, CSM scored three straight points to take the largest lead to that point. A three-point run by Midland tied things back up though as the set’s end neared.
Back-to-back scores by the Flames tilted the lead back to their advantage After trading a pair of points, they closed out the third with a 25-21 win, avoiding a sweep.
A refocused group of Warriors took the court in fourth. They jumped out in front early, scoring seven of the first ten points to go up 7-3. Their lead grew, little by little, as they traded scores with the Flames. Leading 13-11, Midland shifted into the next gear as it went on a 4-0 run.
With set firmly in their control, the Warriors put cruised up to set point at 24-15. CSM put up a speed bump, taking four straight points to force a timeout. After the stoppage, Midland closed out the match as they forced CSM into a hitting error, winning 25-19.
“Really proud of our kids tonight, playing a great team that is really well coached in CSM for the third time with a lot on the line for both teams,” reflected head coach Paul Giesselmann. “I thought CSM played really well to start the match. We dug ourselves holes in both of the first two sets. But I loved our players’ composure and confidence as we hung in there. I thought our serving was really good tonight. It gave us a lot of opportunities.”
Midland finished the night with seven service aces, including three from the arm of Brielle Power. Power added 26 set assists as she coordinated the attack alongside Brena Mackling. Mackling had 24 assists to go with an ace serve. Picking the rest of the aces were Jessie Moss, Kailyn Scott, and Emmalee Sheppard with one each.
Offensively, the Warriors were paced by a trio of attackers. Moss led the way with 14 but was joined in double-digits by Lauren Williams with 11 and Cortlyn Schaefer with 10. For a team, Midland hit just .152 as CSM tallied 10 blocks at the net.
The Warriors, who came into the match with the second-ranked blocking average in the nation, were able to stuff the Flames 17 times. Getting in a large portion was Samuelson. She finished with 13 total blocks, setting a new career high.
Delanie Vallinch, Scott, and Power all reached double figures in digs. Vallinch had 18 to lead the team while Kailyn had 12 and Brielle added 10.
“You’ve got to give CSM credit. I thought their blocking was as good as it’s been all year tonight and that caused us some problems early in the match,” added Coach Giesselmann. “Jessie played really well tonight. Overall, we made plays that we had to make at important times. Tonight, we were able to dig out of holes and come back and finish sets. Now we get an opportunity to play the number one ranked team in the country in Northwestern. They are another really well-coached team and it’ll be another opportunity for us to keep getting better.”
Midland (15-10) will travel up to Orange City, Iowa next week to take on No. 1 Northwestern (24-2). The Red Raiders swept past 8th-seeded Doane on Saturday night. The GPAC Semifinal match is slated for a 7:00 p.m. serve inside the Bultman Center on Wednesday, November 8.
