SIOUX CITY, Iowa – On senior night, needing a win to try and improve their seeding in the GPAC Tournament, the Receiving Votes Mustangs swept Dordt 25-18, 25-16, 26-24 Tuesday night.

With the win, Morningside moved to sixth place in the GPAC due to a Dakota Wesleyan loss to Jamestown Tuesday night. 

"Securing the 6-seed has allowed the players ot see the time and effort they've put in be worth it," head coach Jessica Squier said. "I'm proud of them."

The Mustangs hit .379 in the opening set and .148 in the second to set the stage for a 2-0 lead in the match. The other piece that aided the Mustangs Tuesday is serve-receive, as Morningside had nine service aces, six by Sydney Marlow, with two reception errors. Dordt had seven serving errors and nine receiving errors in the match.

"I thought we were strong mentally tonight, and it made a world of difference," Squier added. "I thought we served really well. Dordt spreads the ball really well and we eliminated them being able to do that consistently."

Payten Lode tallied nine kills and 14 digs to pace the Mustangs. Aleksandra Dalach tallied 30 assists, seven digs, and three service aces. Payton Shoquist picked up 19 digs to add to her record for digs by a libero in the current era. Sydney Marlow tallied seven kills, eight digs, and six aces. Marlow passed 1,000 career digs in the win. Claire Wilson also totaled nine kills and five blocks for Morningside. 

Four members of the Morningside volleyball program were honored before the match as a part of senior night. Players Payton Shoquist (Libero) and Gaby Wilson (Middle hitter) were joined by Agnes Garder (student assistant) and Molly Pitts (student statistician) for a pre-match celebration.

"Payton adn Gaby's commitment to getting better and making the team better has been fantastic," Squier shared. "Their buy-in to our culture and goals has set a precedent moving forward for all."

The Mustangs face the third-seeded Jamestown Jimmies Saturday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals. In two prior matches, the Mustangs fell in five sets at home and fell in three sets at Jamestown.

"Our serve and pass game needs to be strong," Squier said. "Our mental game needs to be "even though." I believe we can do some amazing things as a team if we focus on our controllables and core values."