LA CROSSE, Wis. – On the final day of the Viterbo V-Hawk Invitational, No. 6-ranked Midland University went up against No. 12-ranked Corban University. In the battle of Warriors, Corban came away with the four-set win (25-15, 26-24, 20-25, 25-22) to go undefeated in the early-season tournament held in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Corban started strong with a four-point run to open the first set. As the set progressed, they kept Midland from finding any rhythm. A seven-point run in the middle of the set doubled the score 22-10 and despite a late comeback attempt by the Warriors, CU capped on the win 25-15 as it hit a match-best .308 with 11 kills. Midland was limited to a .106 mark with 9 kills.
After the two sides flipped for the second set, the offense started to heat up for the Warriors. Through the first 20 points, the teams were tied seven times. The trend continued as neither side could break away from the other. Midland moved in front 14-11 only to see Corban battle back to knot the score at 15-15. In total, there were 12 ties in the set.
Midland broke a 23-23 tie and was on set point but was unable to close out the set as Corban went on a three-point run to win 26-24. The Warriors hit their match-best on the attack a .261 and were aided by 8 attack errors by Corban. CU finished with 19 kills though while hitting .239 in the second set.
With Midland needing a win and Corban looking for the sweep, the teams traded short rallies and played neck-and-neck throughout the third. The Warriors gained some momentum as they went up 14-11 near the midway point. They strung together a few other micro runs while not allowing Corban consecutive points until late in the set. Midland leaned on its defense at the net that yielded four blocks.
Abbey Ringler, Lauren Jones, and Jacki Apel each had a hand in on a pair of blocks while offensively Brooklynn Snyder led the attack with six kills. Snyder’s final attack put MU on set point and then Ringler closed out the set with her second kill of the set for the 25-20 win for the Warriors.
Corban regrouped during the break and came out focused to start the fourth. CU started with a 6-1 run and never looked back. A three-point run brought Midland back within two points, 10-8, but Corban responded with a run of its own. Each time the Warriors had a little momentum, CU responded and closed out the match with a 25-22 win.
Brooklynn Snyder had her best match of the season. She finished with a season-high 17 kills going up against one of the better defensive teams in the country. Lauren Jones also had a strong match with 9 kills to go along with 5 block assists. Abbey Ringler led the Warriors with 6 total blocks, including a solo stop in the third.
Midland hit .172 for the match (45 kills against 20 errors) while Corban had a .211 mark (57 kills with 27 errors). Coordination the Warriors’ attack was Brena Mackling and Stella Kuehl. Mackling had 25 set assists while Kuehl finished with 11.
Delanie Vallinch finished with 13 digs for the Warriors in the back row. Mackling was one dig shy of double digits with 9 while Kailyn Scott and Emmalee Sheppard both had 6.
“I was disappointed in how were started the match. As a coach, I have to do a better job of getting the team mentally and physically ready to play,” commented head coach Paul Giesselmann. “After our game one, I thought our players settled in and really competed. They have improved in a lot of areas since our first tournament weekend but have room to grow further. We will have a week of practice to work on some things now as we prepare for our next tournament in Omaha.”
Midland (2-5) will be back in action at the end of next week down the road in Omaha, Nebraska. The Warriors will compete in the Labor Day Classic held on the campus of the College of Saint Mary. Their weekend schedule includes a 6:00 p.m. match on Friday against Norwest (3-1) and then two matches on Saturday versus The Master’s (3-2) at 11:00 a.m. and No. 23 Providence (7-0) at 5:00 p.m.
