Late comeback falls short

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Day two of a busy weekend for Morningside Volleyball started with a Saturday, Feb. 13, match against the visiting Defenders of Dordt University. The Mustangs fell in the match, 3-0, with scores of 25-22, 25-9, and 25-22.

Morningside started the match well, leading Dordt early, before suffering a setback in the form of an injured player. The hosts responded well, shifting some personnel into less-familiar roles, including senior setter Kyle Cox (SR/Mancos, Colo.) filling in in the role of outside hitter, but later in the rotation, Dordt was able to pull in front, where they would stay for the remainder of the set.

"I was proud of the guys that had to play positions they normally wouldn't. They did everything I could have asked of them," said first-year head coach Theison Anderson.

The Mustangs went cold in set two, committing five of their 14 total attack errors on the way to a -.150 hitting percentage, and allowing Dordt to open up to a nine point lead before registering on the scoreboard.

Morningside was unflapped, though, returning to its first-set form and competing with Dordt throughout the match. The Mustangs mounted a comeback late in the set, but ended up a few points short as the Defenders got their final kill of the match.

"I preach a next play mentality at practice a lot. Don't let one error compound into two. Don't let one set impact the next."

He continued, "We had a lot of athletes playing their first college match yesterday and it has been a long preseason to this point. Jitters were bound to happen, especially against a team like Jamestown."

Morningside has one match left this weekend as part of today's triangular, playing Viterbo at 5:30 p.m. in Allee Gym.