Morningside starts season with two wins

CALDWELL, Idaho – The Morningside University women's volleyball team opened its season on Friday with two wins on the road.

The Mustangs closed the night out with a 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 sweep over No. 15 Montana Western to start the 2024-25 at 2-0.

In the first set, the Mustangs clinched it by going on a 12-3 run. Five of those points came on Bulldogs errors, while also in that run, Sydney Marlow and Emerson Smith each garnered two kills.

The two teams played tightly in the second stanza, but a Claire Wilson kill and an attack error forced by Marlow forced the second set to go Morningside's way.

Morningside fought back hard in the third set to earn the sweep. The Mustangs were down 10-3, but battled back to tie the set at 21-21. They took their first lead of the set with a kill by Marlow that was assisted by Aureana Bernales.

The set was then again tied at 23-23, but a Bulldogs error and a Aleksandra Dalach kill sealed the win for the Mustangs. Jacey Miller had the assist on the match-clinching play.

Wilson led Morningside with 10 kills, followed by Marlow with nine and Smith with eight.

Kyla Dyrstad had a team-high 16 assists, while Dalach had 13. Bernales led Morningside with 11 digs. Emma Haren had 4.0 total blocks.

The Mustangs held the Bulldogs to a .054 hitting clip.

Morningside 3, (RV) College of Idaho 2

The Mustangs opened play with a five-set win. The Mustangs defeated (RV) College of Idaho by set scores of 25-21, 15-25, 30-32, 25-15 and 15-10.

The Mustangs' largest lead in the first set was five when they led 23-18 after a kill by Claire Wilson. They took advantage of five College of Idaho errors, including set point.

The Coyotes hit .500 in the second set to take their first stanza of the match.

There were 10 ties in the third set that forced it to go to extra volleys. Nieke van Drunen and Sydney Marlow earned kills to stave off Coyote set points, but the Coyotes scored two straight to take the third.

Morningside started off set four with a 4-0 lead, thanks to two kills from Marlow and one from Kyla Dyrsad. That set the tone for the set, as the Mustangs didn't trail at all in the set. They led as many as eight points. The Mustangs hit .256 in the fourth set, collecting 18 kills and making seven errors.

The Mustangs were efficient in the fifth set, too, by hitting. 350. They closed out the season-opening set with a 7-2 run. Aleksandra Dalach closed out the match with an unassisted kill.

Marlow led the Mustangs with 22 kills, followed by Wilson with 14. Dalach had 28 assists, while Dyrstad had 19. Adelyn Harris earned 4.0 total blocks, and Emma Haren had 3.0 blocks.