Hard-fought wins evade Mustangs

NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. – The Mustangs suffered their first setback in the Sioux City metro today, falling to no. 4 Viterbo and Indiana University East in straight sets on day no. 2 of the College of Saint Mary/United Sports Academy Labor Day Classic. 

While the Mustangs were unable to put a set on the scoreboard, the match with the V-Hawks represented a crucial stepping stone as Morningside heads deeper into a conference schedule that is laced with top-25 talent. 

Juniors Sydney Marlow and Claire Wilson led the Mustangs on the attack, notching nine and eight kills, respectively. Wilson hit .421 in the match, coming second only to Emerson Smith who hit .500 with two kills. Aleksandra Dalach collected 22 of the team's 27 assists. 

Payton Shoquist was the champion for Morningside's defense, scooping up 12 of the Mustangs' 34 digs. Aureana Bernales was a distant second in the digs column, with five.

Katherine Miller had the team's lone solo block, while Wilson and Adelyn Harris paired up for a block to reach the team's two total blocks in the opener.

Morningside saw a more favorable matchup against IU East, nearly matching the Red Wolves in every statistical category as the two teams went blow-for-blow. The two teams played the match in lockstep with each other, with no more than four points separating the two teams until the bitter end.

Marlow led the way for the Mustangs on both sides of the ball, striking for 12 kills and a .242 percentage, while collecting 13 digs.

Shoquist followed in the back row, with 10 digs, and Payten Lode had nine.

Lode added nine kills and a .231 hitting percentage to her stat line for the night, followed by Wilson with eight kills for a .227 percentage. Dalach had 28 assists in the match.

Morningside is back on the court on Tuesday, hosting Briar Cliff University in Great Plains Athletic Conference action. Junior Varsity gets underway at 6 p.m. with varsity following at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance at msidemustangs.com/tickets.