Mustangs steal set from nationally noted Northwestern

ORANGE CITY, IOWA – Morningside again showed why the Great Plains Athletic Conference can be considered one of the top conferences in NAIA volleyball, visiting nationally ranked Northwestern College.  The Mustangs, on the road, squared off with the no. 14 Red Raiders, taking the opening set before falling 3-1, 25-21, 12-25, 14-25, and 16-25.  

The Mustangs wasted no time getting started tonight, opening set one with a block by Claire Wilson and Emma Schall and scoring five points before the Red Raiders got on the board.  Sydney Marlow's first kill of the night pushed Morningside over the 10-point mark before Northwestern rached five points, and a kill from Emerson Smith saw the visitor's score cross the 15 point horizon, leaving the hosts with seven points.  

Northwestern went on a five-point run of its own before Morningside crossed the 20-point mark, closing the gap between the two teams and upping the pressure as the set continued.  The Mustangs began to falter, but Meredith Hoffman ended the set with an exclamation point, hammering a kill home.

Northwestern took advantage of the Mustangs inconsistencies for the remainder of the night, tallying 14 attack errors, half of Morningside's total.  Errors also impacted the Mustangs on the serve-receive and serving aspects of the game.

Payton Shoquist recorded a match-high 21 digs in the set, followed, for Morningside, by Emerson Smith, who had nine digs.  Also taking top honors in the defensive category, Wilson and Schall each registered a pair of block assists, accounting for Morningside's two total blocks.  

Sabrina Creason collected 21 assists, with Bridget Smith grabbing 12 of her own.  The setting duo guided the Mustangs on the way to record 40 total kills in the match.  Marlow was the top terminator with 12 kills, followed by Hoffman and Wilson with eight and Emerson Smith with seven.