Weekend home dates begin 2021 GPAC, overall season

First-year head coach Theison Anderson's Morningside College squad steps on the floor for the first time Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12 and 13.

The Mustangs take on National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' No. 8-ranked University of Jamestown in their home, Great Plains Athletic Conference, and regular-season opener at 7 p.m. Friday and then host fellow GPAC member Dordt University and Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Viterbo University of LaCrosse, Wis., Saturday at 1 and 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

All matches are scheduled for Allee Gymnasium inside the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center. Live statistics and video links are available at www.msidemustangs.com, the Internet home of Morningside College athletics.

2021 Season Glance

• Anderson sees good progressions from practices going into the season opener. "We're moving forward," he noted. "We have a small roster, but I feel like the right guys are in the right positions. We're staying the course, keeping positive, and looking forward to the start of the season."
• He recognized senior Kyle Cox (SR/Mancos, Colo.) (Mancos, Colo.) and junior middle hitter Tyler Godown (JR/Las Vegas, Nev.) (Las Vegas, Nev.) as early-season leaders. "Kyle is very vocal and serves the leadership role well," Anderson said. "Tyler is more of a leader by example, as he gives 110 percent all the time. We have some others looking to move into that type of role, too."
• Morningside's head coach wants Mustangs fans to see a disciplined group at all times on the floor. "We've been focusing on serve and pass, as myself and our coaching staff understand the need for aggressive serving and consistent passing," Anderson said. "During matches, I want us to win those two areas to be able to control the ball. If we can do that and be disciplined on defense, that's the equation for positive outcomes. We've come a long way from the fall and since we returned from winter break in those areas, but there is still work to be done. This weekend will give us a good baseline of where the next steps need to be."

This weekend's schedule opens a robust set of three straight home weekends. Mside hosts Ottawa University of Kansas Feb 19 and the inaugural GPAC Classic Feb 20 and then welcomes Lincoln College of Missouri and Judson University of Illinois Friday, Feb 26.