Mustangs square off with top-five foe

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – The matchup for today's Morningside Volleyball match, on paper, was probably far from something that Mustang fans were looking forward to.  However, in a league with members scattered across the NAIA's top 25 list, anything can happen on any given night.  While coming up short of an upset, Morningside did give the no. 2 Jimmies a fight, falling 3-0, with sets of 25-23, 25-19, and 25-17.

The Mustangs hit the gas early, surrendering the first point before hammering a trio of kills courtesy of Ryley Rolls, Meredith Hoffman, and Emerson Smith.  A few points later Sydney Marlow would register in the kills column on the stat sheet, as Morningside kept pushing forward.  Jamestown caught up and tied the score at 11, and the teams would stay neck and neck the rest of the set.

"We really just focused on each other and working together," explained Kayla Ruff, stepping in for an absent Jessica Squier.  "The girls trusted the reps that they have been getting in practice.  The team's mentality didn't change just because it was Jamestown."

Morningside stumbled early in set two, with Jamestown getting out to a 5-1 lead before Ruff called a time out.  A successful time out, by Squier's standards, as the Mustangs took the next point.  It would be 10-2, however, before the Mustangs dug in and proved that they weren't going to take a loss in the set without a fight, closing the gap to 17-15 with a kill from Emma Schall.

"Sometimes we need a moment to check in with each other and refocus. Some of it was strategy, for sure, but a good chunk of it was regrouping and checking in with what we can control," said Ruff, explaining what it took to rekindle the fire in the Mustangs.

This all felt a little familiar to the Morningside faithful, having seen the match with Northwestern start similarly, but fizzle in set three.  The Mustangs had other plans for today.

"The girls addressed that right away between sets 2 and 3," explained Ruff, giving a glimpse at what the thought process was for the Mustangs.  "They said they did not want that to happen again and that they were going to fight till the end, which I think we did."

Fight, they did, matching Jamestown's scoring for much of the set, and forcing the Jimmies to play five points before they could drive the final nail.

"The work the girls have been putting in in practice is paying off.  We are right there and can compete with any team, we just need to work on our consistency a little more," detailed Ruff.

"Our team culture and team chemistry is continuing to get better every day.  Today's match showed that we are moving in the right direction."

The Mustangs' offense was led by Sydney Marlow, terminating 13 points in the match.  Meredith Hoffman followed with 11 kills.  Claire Wilson was the Mustangs' most efficient, hitting a .455 while working for six kills in 11 attempts, with just one error.

Morningside's veteran setter, senior Sabrina Creason, took top-billing in the 6-2 rotation, earning 20 assists, with Bridget Smith, serving as the second half of the tandem, with 13.

Marlow took top honors for back row defense, racking up 18 digs across the three sets.  Payton Shoquist was nipping at her heels, with 17 of her own, wrapping up the double-digit dig efforts for the Mustangs.  

Hoffman was Morningside's leader as defensive efforts at the net go, with three blocks, including one solo.  Ryley Rolls had the Mustangs' remaining solo block as part of her two-block afternoon.  

Morningside, now 8-8 and 1-3 in the GPAC, is home again next week, playing Dakota State on Friday, Sept. 17, with JV scheduled for 5:30 and varsity at 7 p.m.

"Our girls showed really good fight all the way till the end," summarized Ruff.  "We took strides in being able to trust each other and communicate through the problems.  The more this group continues to work together, the better it's going to get."