Courtesy of Midland Athletics
OMAHA, Neb. — No. 20 Midland University took the court at the CSM Labor Day Classic on Saturday, opening the day with a sweep of Benedictine College (25-14, 25-22, 25-13). The Warriors then faced The Master’s University in the final match, falling in five sets (25-21, 15-25, 25-16, 8-25, 21-19) to close out the Classic.
Midland 3, Benedictine 0
Lauren Williams opened the match with a kill before both teams traded points early. Back-to-back kills by Brooklynn Snyder and Williams, along with a service ace from Snyder, pushed the Warriors ahead 8-5.
The Ravens responded with a kill before Abree Plueger and Williams added kills to extend the lead to 11-7. Benedictine cut it back to 12-10, but Lauren Jones sparked Midland with two kills. Snyder added one of her own, followed by a block from Plueger and Snyder, forcing a Ravens timeout at 16-11.
After the break, Midland rolled on a 9-3 run behind kills from Snyder, Williams and Plueger, closing out set one 25-14.
Benedictine jumped out to a 3-0 lead in set two, but Midland answered with a 7-0 run that included kills from Plueger, Snyder and Cameran Jansky, plus three Raven errors. The set stayed tight, tied 14-14 after a Benedictine run, but back-to-back kills from Plueger and Snyder put Midland back in front.
With the score at 24-19, Benedictine strung together three points before a block from Jansky and Plueger sealed the set 25-22.
Midland carried the momentum into set three, as Plueger, Jones and Delainey Cast (with a service ace) pushed them ahead 6-2. The Warriors widened the gap with a 10-3 run, bringing them to set point at 24-12. After one final Raven kill, Midland closed it out on a Benedictine attack error to win 25-13 and complete the sweep.
The Master’s 3, Midland 2
The Master’s opened set one on a 5-2 run, but Midland tied it behind kills from Snyder and a block from Williams and Abby Spidle. Both teams battled back and forth until Midland surged ahead 22-16 on kills from Williams, Plueger, Jansky and Jones.
The Mustangs cut it to 24-23, but Jones sealed the set with a kill for a 25-21 Midland win.
Set two began with a 6-3 Midland lead, capped by four consecutive kills. The Master’s rallied, though, going on an 8-2 run to take control 19-13. They pulled away with a 6-1 closing run to win 25-15 and even the match at 1-1.
In set three, Midland stormed out to a 4-1 lead with two aces from Brena Mackling. After the Mustangs pulled within 4-3, the Warriors went on a 7-1 run, then later a 10-3 surge, to build a 21-10 lead. The Master’s responded with six straight points, but kills from Snyder and Jones sealed the set 25-16 to put Midland up 2-1.
The Mustangs dominated set four from the start, racing to a 10-4 lead and later finishing on a 12-2 run to win 25-8 and force a decisive fifth set.
In the final frame, Midland jumped ahead 3-1 after blocks from Jansky and Jones. The Master’s responded with a 9-2 run to reach match point at 14-9, but the Warriors fought back with a 5-0 run to tie it at 14-14.
The teams battled past extra points, but The Master’s sealed the match with back-to-back kills to win 21-19 and take the 3-2 victory.
Midland (4-5) will wrap up nonconference play at home on Wednesday, Sept. 3, hosting Grand View University (8-0). First serve is set for 7 p.m. on Fan Appreciation Night.
