Mustangs rely on camaraderie en route to 7-1 start

SIOUX CITY -- Good play on the volleyball takes trust. That was a lesson that the Morningside University women's volleyball team learned the hard way a couple seasons ago.

Head coach Jessica Squier took over the Mustangs in 2020, and through COVID-19, she basically had to recruit a new team from scratch. This year's seniors were Squier's first recruiting class, and four years later, the Mustangs are off to a strong start.

When her first group showed up to campus a few years ago, Squier identified which girls were going to be leaders on and off the floor. She took those young women off to the side to train them, so when the time came for their leadership, those ladies were ready.

"The little things make the difference," Squier said at last week's Fall Sports Media Day. "We have girls who have been committed over the last three years. They don't let the little things slide. They'll address the things that need to be addressed."

Squier and the Mustangs are seeing that cultivation pay off so far in 2024.

The Mustangs go into Wednesday's match at Dakota State with a 7-1 record, winning all four matches last weekend at the GoSarpy.com Volleyball Classic.

It's the best record the Mustangs have had since the Class of 2025 arrived on campus through eight matches.

The Mustangs last season were 3-5 among their first eight, and 1-7 in 2022. The Mustangs were 5-3 starting out in 2021.

The stats back their improvement, too. Overall last season, Morningside averaged 12.18 kills per set. Heading into Wednesday, it has 13.3 kills per set and is 14th nationally in kills at 360.

GPAC Week 1 Attacker of the Week Sydney Marlow leads Morningside with 102 kills, while fellow senior Claire Wilson has 87 kills. Marlow has seen the program rise with the level of trust throughout the seasons.

"We've worked from scratch, and it's been a grind," Marlow said. "We have a two-way street of trust with the coaching staff and that makes life a whole lot easier. We've worked hard these first few weeks, and we can see how the hard work paid off."

The trust off the court is just as important, Wilson said.

"Now that we're all in the same boat, we know what it takes," Wilson said. "You have to take that extra step and be the most you want to be."

The Mustangs have also improved in blocks per set (1.74) and are on pace to break last year's pace in digs (15.9) and service aces (1.32).

The top two setters are Aleksandra Dalach with 157 and Kyla Dyrstad at 129.

Defensively, senior Aureana Bernales has a team-high 134 digs, just under 5.0 per set.