Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – It was a battle of Warriors within the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) on Friday night as No. 18 Midland University hosted Waldorf University. Midland dropped the opening set before rallying to take the next two and led deep into the fourth before Waldorf caught a spark to force a deciding set. Midland dominated the fifth, winning the match 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-17, 20-25, 15-7).
The first set was tight throughout, featuring nine ties up to a 20-20 score. Midland held a two-point lead early before Waldorf battled back to go up by three. From there, Waldorf scored two straight points and held off Midland for a 25-23 win.
In the second, Midland took an early 5-2 lead before Waldorf clawed back to go up 11-10. A run of four straight points put the Warriors back on top 16-13, and they held off a late rally to even the match with a 25-21 victory.
Midland’s momentum carried into the third as it built a 12-6 advantage, forcing a timeout from the visiting bench. Waldorf regrouped and cut the deficit to two at 19-17, but Midland responded with six straight points to take the set 25-17 and go up 2-1 in the match.
The fourth set saw Midland take a 4-4 tie and turn it into a 20-17 lead, but Waldorf rallied with eight straight points to win 25-20 and force a decisive fifth.
In the final set—a sprint to 15—Midland jumped out to a 3-0 lead that ballooned to 12-3. Waldorf made one last push with four straight points, but Midland closed the door with three consecutive scores to secure the 15-7 win.
For the match, Midland hit .239 while Waldorf finished at .145. Coordinating the offense were Brena Mackling with 32 assists and Jaysa Wentzlaff with 18.
Lauren Jones led the attack with a career-high 17 kills, followed by Brooklynn Snyder with 14. Abby Spidle added eight kills, including four in the third set, while Macey Jackson tallied seven, with three coming in the fifth.
Defensively, Claire Johnson set a new career high with 23 digs. Joining her in double figures were Sydney Guthard with 13 and Mackling with 10. At the service line, Midland totaled seven aces, led by Abree Plueger with three. Mackling, Lily Bolden, Tori Walker, and Lillian Meyer each recorded one.
Midland (13-6, 8-1 GPAC) will have a quick turnaround as it hosts No. 7 Northwestern (17-3, 9-0 GPAC) on Saturday afternoon. First serve between the Warriors and Red Raiders is set for 3 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center in Fremont.
