Familiar foe forces Friday split

BELLEVUE, NEB. – It was a recent opponent in Midamerica Nazarene that upset the Mustangs bid for a sweep of day one of the GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic, taking Morningside to a competitive five sets before wrapping a day that saw the Mustangs start play at 9 a.m.  Morningside's loss to MNU, 3-2 with scores of 11-25, 25-21, 19-25, 28-26, and 15-9, followed the morning's 3-1 win over Peru State, 25-13, 21-25, 25-18, and 25-15.

The Mustangs' morning match was not far from what Mustang fans have seen on the floor so far this young season, with Emerson Smith taking nine of Morningside's 41 kills.  Meredith Hoffman took eight, while Ryley Rolls had seven.  

Freshman Kenna Howard hit at a percentage of .364, terminating five balls with an error, in 11 attempts, topping the attacker's percentages.  Bridget Smith, was successful on three out of four attempts, finding holes from the setter role.  

Sabrina Creason was the Mustangs' assists leader in the match, earning 15, while Smith followed with nine.  

Morningside's defense was championed by sophomore libero Payton Shoquist, finding 21 digs, while freshmen Sydney Marlow and Emerson Smith followed with 12 and 10, respectively.  Marlow and Smith were joined by Claire Wilson, each with a solo block with Howard, Hoffman, and Marlow each getting a block assist.

The box score at the other end of the day saw Hoffman championing Morningside's block, with two solos and an assist.  Rolls, Wilson, and Marlow also recorded block assists in the five-setter.

Shoquist again led the forces in the back row, recording 24 digs.  Creason, Marlow, and Emerson Smith followed with 15, 14, and 13 each.

The Mustangs' veteran setter tacked 37 assists onto her career total, eclipsing current head coach Jessica Squier on the all-time list in the match, with 1,583 assists.

The usual suspects were on the attack again, with Emerson Smith and Hoffman sharing the lead role, each with 14 terminations.  Marlow trailed with 12, and Wilson had seven in the nightcap.  

Morningside is back in action in Bellevue tomorrow, squaring off with Mayville State at 9 a.m. and McPherson at 1 p.m.