COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Midwestern State dropped its first two matches at the Mountain Lion Classic on Friday. In its first match of the day, the Mustangs came up short in a five-set duel with Lone Star Conference counterpart St. Edward's. MSU battled UCCS in the nightcap, and the hosts prevailed in four sets.
St. Edward's 3, Midwestern State 2
St. Edward's earned a non-conference win over the Mustangs 25-20, 25-27, 16-25, 25-20, 8-15. The Mustangs finished with 62 kills but were held to five kills and a -.048 hitting percentage in the fifth set.
MSU finished the first set with a 25-20 win, closing it on an
Isabella Dickens kill and a block by Dickens and
Macy Scheer. Earlier, the Mustangs scored the first two points before SEU moved in front 5-3, and the home side answered with kills from
Remi Madison,
Jaiden Wright,
TaNia Penn and Dickens to get back even and edge ahead. With the set tied 8-8, Dickens delivered three kills during a stretch that helped the Maroon & Gold move ahead 14-9, and Madison later added a kill before a Wright block pushed the margin to 19-14. The Hilltoppers continued to cut into the gap, but MSU responded with late kills from Penn and
Ella Koch before Dickens' final kill gave the team a set point.
The Mustangs answered the first point of the second set by winning seven of the next eight rallies, with Koch serving a four-point stretch that included two Madison kills, an SEU attack error and Koch's ace before Dickens and Madison added kills for a 7-2 lead. The Hilltoppers cut into the margin, but MSU continued to answer behind kills from Madison, Wright, Penn and Koch, along with a Dickens block and a
Giselle Cazares ace, as it moved ahead 15-10. SEU drew even at 15-15 and later went in front 21-20, but the Mustangs responded with a Madison kill, a Wright kill and a Grace McDonald attack error, then used a Penn kill, a Mia Clay attack error and a Dickens kill to lead 24-22. The Hilltoppers scored the next three points, Dickens tied the set at 25-25, and SEU closed with consecutive kills to take the set 27-25.
The Maroon & Gold erased a 7-4 deficit in the third set and moved in front 9-8 when Dickens put down a kill from Scheer. The response included a Penn kill, an
Aaliyah Toppin kill and an SEU attack error before the teams traded service errors at 8-8. The Hilltoppers answered with five straight points to go ahead 13-9, a stretch that included four Kelli Fording kills and an MSU ball-handling error. Toppin, Dickens and Cazares added kills as the Mustangs tried to stay in the set, but SEU scored the final three points to take it 25-16.
MSU took the fourth set 25-20 after answering a 14-14 tie with three straight points, including two Madison kills around a
Lillian Noble-Madison block. Earlier,
Savannah Cummings served the Mustangs to a 4-0 start, with an ace and three Hilltoppers attack errors accounting for the opening run. Scheer helped keep the offense moving through the middle of the set, setting up kills by Dickens, Wright, Noble,
Aubree Bunker and Madison as the Maroon & Gold stayed in front. After SEU got within range late, Dickens put down kills for 22-17 and 24-19, and Madison finished the set on a Cummings assist.
The Mustangs fell into a 6-0 hole to open the fifth set and spent the rest of the set trying to work back from the Hilltoppers' early separation. Bunker put MSU on the board with a kill from Scheer, then added another off a Cazares assist to make it 6-2. Dickens answered twice with kills from Scheer as the Maroon & Gold continued to search for points against SEU's side-out pressure. Madison added a kill from
Jenna Redding, and Noble and Wright combined on consecutive blocks to bring the Mustangs to 12-7, but the Hilltoppers finished the set with three of the final four points for a 15-8 result.
Dickens finished with 18 kills, hit .417 and totaled 19.5 points. Madison recorded 16 kills and 15 digs while adding 16.5 points. Scheer tallied 34 assists, six digs and four kills.
UCCS 3, Midwestern State 1
Midwestern State fell to the hosts in four sets 21-25, 25-15, 21-25, 13-25. The Mustangs finished with 42 kills and a .103 hitting percentage, compared with 47 kills and a .243 percentage for the Mountain Lions.
MSU trimmed a late four-point deficit to one in the opening set, moving from 22-18 to 22-21 before the Mountain Lions answered. Earlier, the Mustangs kept responding through much of the first half, with
Remi Madison,
Jaiden Wright and
Nyle Mathis recording kills before
Aubree Bunker put down consecutive kills that left the Mountain Lions ahead 9-7.
Giselle Cazares served an ace to bring MSU to 9-11, Wright was credited with a block on a Mountain Lions attack error at 12-14, and Mathis added another kill as the visitors stayed within two at 13-15.
Jenna Redding's service ace helped cut it to 15-17, and after the Mountain Lions went up 22-18,
TaNia Penn's kill from Maxime Pheasant,
Isabella Dickens' ace and a Mountain Lions setting error brought the Mustangs to 21-22 before the Mountain Lions scored the final three points for a 25-21 set finish.
The Mustangs broke open the second set with an eight-point run from 16-14 to 24-14 and finished off a 25-15 win. Earlier, the visitors built separation with kills from Wright, Dickens and Madison, while blocks involving Dickens and Penn helped MSU stay in front through the first half of the set. Penn pushed the margin to 16-12 with a kill from Redding before the Mountain Lions scored the next two points. The Mustangs responded with a Penn kill from Pheasant, then Cazares served seven straight points, including two aces, before Penn closed the set with another kill from Pheasant.
MSU made its biggest move late in the third set, winning seven of eight rallies to cut a 19-12 deficit to 20-19 behind kills from Wright and Madison and a Mountain Lions attack error.
Earlier, the Mustangs stayed within reach with contributions from Wright, Mathis, Dickens, Madison, Bunker and Penn, but the Mountain Lions used a mid-set stretch to move ahead 13-7. After the Mountain Lions pushed the margin back to seven at 19-12, MSU answered with the late run, including three straight points with
Macy Scheer serving. The comeback bid stopped there, as the Mountain Lions scored five of the final seven points despite late kills from Mathis and Bunker, and the Mustangs dropped the set 25-21.
The Mustangs saw the Mountain Lions turn a 10-8 score into a 20-10 advantage in the middle of the fourth set, and the Mountain Lions went on to take the set 25-13. Earlier, MSU opened with a Madison kill from Scheer, a Mathis kill from Scheer and a Madison service ace to lead 3-1 before the Mountain Lions worked back and moved ahead. Down 10-6, the Mustangs answered with a service error and a Madison kill from Pheasant to get to 10-8, but the Mountain Lions followed with a stretch that included a Sydni Lafasciano ace, two assisted blocks and three Nicole Himebauch kills. Bunker and Mathis added late kills for MSU, though the Mountain Lions closed the set on an MSU attack error.
Madison finished with eight kills, 13 digs, one service ace and a block assist. Bunker also recorded eight kills and added three digs. Scheer posted 19 assists and nine digs. Redding collected a team-high 14 digs while adding three assists and a service ace.
Up next, the Mustangs face Michigan Tech at the Mountain Lion Classic on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and then meet South Dakota Mines in the finale at 5:30 p.m.
