By Gustav Hollnagel–
Mustang Volleyball started their conference play last week. In two tough matches against Northwestern and Midland University, the team of Coach Sara Horn had to digest two five-set defeats, losing by margins of six and two points respectively. On Wednesday, September 19, the Mustangs came back to get their first conference win of the season against Dakota Wesleyan. They improved their overall record to 10-6.
Despite the rocky start in the GPAC, Coach Horn especially emphasized that, in both games, her team played under their level. She said, “Both games were up and down. After those performances we talked a lot about consistency and working on our communication and work ethic.”
Against Midland on Wednesday, Horn decided to let senior Briana Schaeuble sit longer than usual so she could rest. The rest of the team implemented on many things they worked on during practice. Horn explained that Dakota Wesleyan was a serious opponent, not having lost a single one of their players and simply being a lot better than last year.
On Saturday, the Mustangs will travel to Crete, NE, to take on the pre-season favorite Doane College. Horn said, “They are ranked in the top 15 nationally – they know we’ll prepare for them. We are playing seven new girls this year, so we have to focus on our side as well.”
One indicator of success might be the great performance of sophomore Kecia Verburg, who had a career-high kill performance (15) against Dakota Wesleyan.
“Kecia is not a regular starter but she had a fantastic game. She actually played at three different positions. We definitely rely on her because she does a lot of good things for us,” Horn said.
Senior leader Anastasia Ott also put on a career-high kill performance (17) on Wednesday. However, Horn articulated that it’s usually not about two players, as they play a 10-person rotation, “needing to get performance from everybody.”
Ott said, “What helped me get career high kills was Melissa (Mounts) trusting me and the passers getting her an on-tempo pass on free balls. The win overall was a good confidence builder.” Ott also explained that practices have been great, filled with high energy and a fired-up attitude to face Doane’s team, hinting at the great rivalry the two contenders maintained over the years.
Horn showed a poise of confidence and enthusiasm about the remainder of the season. She said they are a game back from where they were last year at this point (2-1 conference start). Plus, last year they lost to Midland as well.
“I feel like we are on of the best teams, even though the GPAC doesn’t think so,” said Horn. The Mustangs were ranked 5th in the pre-season poll. “We just got to win some big games.”
That big game might come sooner than expected. Doane is 16-4 overall (3-1 in GPAC). Maybe a win over Doane will light another spark for the team, even though Horn emphasized that, “We’re good mentally. We know we can do that [win the conference]. We just have to get the puzzle together. I think the girls are working very hard on doing what we want.”
After Saturday’s game, the volleyball ladies will move on to host two other conference rivals. They will play Briar Cliff University on Wednesday, September 26.
Ott said, “Briar Cliff always come fired up to play so what we are going to focus on is playing consistent, with a lot of energy and aggressiveness.”
The local rivalry against Briar Cliff will be followed by another home game on Saturday, September 29, against Concordia University.
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