SIOUX CITY, Iowa – No. 6 Midland University made the familiar trek to Sioux City on Friday night to take on Morningside University in a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) match. The Warriors, who will make the same trip on Saturday to face Briar Cliff, made quick work of the Mustangs, winning in straight sets (25-20, 25-13, 25-9). The victory improves their record to 19-3 overall and 8-3 in the GPAC. Morningside falls to 10-16, 1-10 in the conference.
The Warriors led wire-to-wire in the opening set. They jumped out to a 6-1 lead behind kills from four different players. With the early advantage, they were able to stave off any chance of a rally the Mustangs put together, the most a 3-0 run to pull within three at 20-17. Taliyah Flores and Cortlyn Schaefer closed out the set, 25-20, with back-to-back kills.
Set two saw Morningside stick with Midland early. The teams traded the first eight points en route to a 4-4 tie. The Warriors then went on an 8-1 run, a deficit the Mustangs wouldn’t recover from. A 4-0 run, with three points coming off of Morningside errors, made the score 21-9 and virtually sealed the set. Brooke Fredrickson netted the final point via a kill.
Morningside took their first lead of the match in the third set, 3-2, but a 12-1 run by Midland tilted the set back in their favor. The surge featured three kills by Schaefer and a pair from Abbey Ringler. The second timeout by the Mustangs ended the run but only momentarily as the Warriors closed out the set and clinched the sweep with a 10-3 run.
Hope Leimbach, the reigning GPAC Setter of the Week, lead an even Warriors’ attack that saw six players record a kill. Flores led the way with 10 while Schaefer and Ringler were close behind with 8 and 7. Lauryn Samuelson and Brooke Fredrickson each had 6 kills. Carrie Beethe had two kills while Leimbach had three to go with her 33 set assists.
At the net, Midland had eight blocks as a team. Ringler Fredrickson each had a hand in on four of the stops while Samuelson had three.
Leading the way in digs was Flores with 14. Delanie Vallinch added 12 from her libero position while Leimbach dug up 10 balls.
“I was very pleased to see the things we’ve been working on in practice transferred to the match tonight,” said head coach Paul Giesselmann. “We played a very efficient match, holding .058 on their attack. We served well and played great team defense tonight. With us coming back up to Sioux City tomorrow, it was good to come in, be efficient, and save energy for tomorrow.”
Midland (19-3, 8-3 GPAC) will be back on the road on Saturday as they take on Briar Cliff (7-15, 1-10 GPAC) in Sioux City. The Warriors and Chargers will serve it up at 6:30 p.m.
