Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – Back on its home court after a pair of road contests, No. 17 Midland University hosted the College of Saint Mary on Wednesday night inside the Wikert Event Center. The Warriors outlasted the Flames in a five-set thriller, winning 25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 30-32, 15-11 in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play.
Midland came out aggressive at the net, using a 7-3 run to take early control. Lauren Jonesand Abree Plueger combined for seven early kills as the Warriors forced the Flames into four attack errors in the opening set. A strong serving run from Sydney Guthard extended the lead to double digits, and a Jones kill clinched the set, 25-17.
CSM flipped the momentum with a dominant second set, fueled by a 9-0 burst that forced two Midland timeouts. The Flames used tough serving and a disciplined block to hold Midland to its lowest hitting percentage of the match at .040. Despite late kills from Brooklynn Snyder, the Warriors were unable to recover, falling 25-16.
Set three featured 10 ties and key defensive plays on both sides. Tied 21-21, the Warriors turned to their pin hitters as Snyder and Plueger delivered back-to-back kills. With Midland leading 24-23, Avery Couch sealed the set with a kill for a 25-23 win.
The fourth set was a marathon, with both teams fending off multiple set and match points. Midland led 27-26 and again at 29-28, but the Flames extended play each time with timely kills. The set featured six ties after 24-all before CSM capitalized on consecutive Midland attack errors to force a deciding set, 32-30.
Feeding off the energy of the home crowd, Midland regained control in the fifth set with a 6-2 run behind kills from Snyder and Plueger and a pair of momentum-swinging blocks by Cameran Jansky. The Warriors maintained a two-point edge throughout before Snyder’s 19th kill of the night secured the match. Midland hit .312 in the final set, its best offensive mark of the night, to win 15-11.
For the match, the Warriors hit .241 while holding the Flames to a .171 hitting percentage. Snyder led the attack with 19 kills, followed by Plueger with 18 and Jones with 14.
Setting the offense were Jaysa Wentzlaff and Brena Mackling, who finished with 32 and 30 assists, respectively.
In the back row, Delainey Cast totaled 19 digs while Guthard added 14 and Claire Johnsonhad 12. At the net, Jansky recorded five blocks and Jones added three.
“What I told the team in the locker room, we’re never going to be technically 100% all of the time. We’re going to ebb and flow,” commented head coach Micah Rhodes. “What we have to be consistent on are the controllables. The attitude, the effort, and the communication. I felt at times, we didn’t play as a team, and you can tell it affected our overall play. So, if we can learn how to be more consistent with our mindset, I think that will help the technical stuff get better.”
“We found a way to be resilient again, and at the end of the day, a win is a win. We’re young… freshmen and sophomores for the most part. For them to be competing in these pressure situations, it’s only going to make us better in the future. I was really proud of their overall effort.”
Midland (15-8, 10-3 GPAC) will travel to face Dordt (17-7, 8-5 GPAC) on Saturday in an important late-season matchup. The Warriors currently sit third in the conference standings, just ahead of the Defenders in fourth.
