HASTINGS, Neb. – No. 20-ranked Midland University traveled out to face Hastings College in a midweek Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) match on Wednesday night. Playing in one of the tougher buildings in the conference, the Warriors were able to block out the home crowd as they earned a straight-set win over the Broncos (25-22, 27-25, 25-13). It was the first-ever sweep for Midland inside Lynn Farrell Arena, built in 2002.
Receiving the opening serve, it took the Warriors a bit to settle into the match. The Broncos jumped out to a two-point lead before Abbey Ringler tooled her attack off the block attempt. A service ace from Stella Kuehl got Midland rolling as it marched out to a 10-7 lead.
A three-point rally moved the Warriors in front 15-11 and forced a timeout from the Hastings bench. The Broncos responded with a brief rally of their own, pulling to within a point at 18-17. Down the stretch, the Warriors kept the lead from slipping. A block of the Broncos by Ringler and Lauren closed out the set, 25-22.
In the second set, Hastings scored the first four points which prompted a quick timeout from Midland. As the Warriors battled back, they tied the set at 7-7 but fell behind once more as the Broncos used a three-point rally to go up 12-9.
With Delanie Vallinch at the service line, a five-point rally ensued that tilted the set to the Warriors’ advantage. Things tightened back up though as the two sides traded points and the lead several times. After a tie at 15-15, there were more ties up to 22 all.
Hastings was able to get the next two points but was unable to take the set as they served up the set point on two occasions. Back-to-back attack errors by the Broncos put the Warriors on set point. A kill by Jones closed the book for the 27-25 win and the two games to none lead.
Riding the momentum of clawing their way back to win the second, Midland was able to get out in front early in the third. A two-point start turned into a 6-1 lead which prompted a timeout. The huddle talk didn’t help the home team much though as the Warriors’ lead grew to 15-4.
Six straight points by Hastings cut the deficit and resulted in a Midland timeout. After the break, the Warriors focused in and closed out the third with a 10-3 run. Kills by Ringler and Jones put the bow on Midland’s fifth win over Hastings on the road since 2010.
For the match, the Warriors hit .226 with 40 kills and just 14 errors on the night. They limited the Broncos to a .129 attack percentage while coming up with 9 blocks at the first line of defense. Individual stats were not available at the time of this release.
“Really happy for our team tonight. Hastings is a tough place to play and we didn’t play very well in the first set,” commented head coach Paul Giesselmann. “We got off to a bad start in the second, but I loved how our team handled everything. Hastings had a good student section behind us in set two and our players got rattled down the stretch. It was a tight game and winning the second was the difference in the match. In the third, we played much better and took care of business to get the sweep.”
Midland (8-7, 4-1 GPAC) will look to continue its run this coming weekend back at home. The Warriors will host Dordt (10-6, 4-1 GPAC) on Saturday, September 28. First serve is slated for 3:00 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center in Fremont, Neb.
