Mustangs fall in GPAC opener

OTTAWA, KAN. - Morningside's first Great Plains Athletic Conference road trip of the year proved a tough one for the young men's volleyball team, as it opened its conference season at Ottawa University.  Ottawa, picked second in the conference behind defending champion Jamestown, was able to sneak away with a 3-0 win, with scores of 26-24, 25-18, and 26-24.

The Mustangs jumped into the fray tonight, picking up where they left off in Allee Gymnasium on Saturday, matching Ottawa's score early in the match.  Morningside stumbled, however, getting stuck in set one, before storming back into the set.  The visiting Mustangs would close the gap and resume jockeying for the remainder of the set, only for the Braves to come out on top.

Set two saw Morningside fall behind early, with Ottawa working to a 10-3 lead, but would again fight back into the set.  The Mustangs closed the gap to as few as two points, but a string of four points for Ottawa would give the Braves some breathing room as they pushed to the end of the set.

"I like how the guys fought through some different adversity tonight," said coach Addison Mertler.  

He continued, "We came out a little flat in the first couple sets, but were able to fight back and get some good energy to continue to roll through the set."

And roll they did, taking the lead out of the gate in set three, and holding until the final points when an Ottawa team that had been chipping away at the Mustang lead, tied the game and went on to grab the victory.

"The guys still have a lot of room to grow and develop," analyzed Mertler after the loss.  "They continue to push each other and show different opportunities to grow every single day."

Mertler's Mustangs were led on offense by Isaiah Baynes, recording 15 straight kills in his second straight game atop the leaderboard.  Lucas Begliomini and Dylan Hamil each hit .263 and were good for nine and eight kills respectively.  Erik Krenz was Morningside's most efficient attacker, scoring five kills at a .400 rate.

Jacob DePauw earned 36 assists as he dished the ball to the Morningside attack corps.

On Defense, Morningside's back row led the way, championed by libero Owen Anderson, with eight digs.  Begliomini had seven, and DePauw had six.

Morningside is back in action on Friday and Saturday, competing against Mount Mercy, Clarke, and Saint Xavier in Dubuque, Iowa.