Mustangs go 3-1 at Forester Invitational

HUNTINGTON, Ind. -- The Mount Mercy women's volleyball team opened the 2021 season by winning three of four matches at the Huntington Forester Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

The Mustangs defeated host Huntington in straight sets on Friday morning, sweeping the Foresters, 25-20, 25-22, 29-27. Maggie Peters drilled a team-high 11 kills with a .455 attack percentage. Olivia Makinen added five kills, Mackenzie Murphy four. Hailey Hested tallied 19 assists, Abby Redmond posted a team-best 12 digs and Murphy finished with 11. Kendall McNaull finished with four total blocks.

In the second match of the day, Mount Mercy dropped the first two sets to St. Ambrose but rallied to force a fifth set before falling to the Bees, 25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 24-26, 15-12. This time it was Murphy leading the way offensively, finishing with 11 kills to go along with 11 digs. Peters added seven kills and had all three of the team's blocks. Hested had 32 assists and 11 digs, Rylie Mussman collected 17 digs, and Redmond notched 15 digs.

The Mustangs swept both matches on Saturday, beginning with a 25-10, 25-19, 25-18 defeat of Goshen. Peters pounded 10 kills in 15 attempts. McNaull chipped in nine kills, Makinen and Cassidy Boche eight apiece. Hested recorded 36 assists and Mussman ended up with a team-high nine digs.

Mount Mercy (3-1) dominated sets one and three in a 25-16, 30-28, 25-10 sweep of Calumet in Saturday's second match. Peters dominated again, hitting .550 with 14 kills. Laila Sain finished with eight kills, Waverly Roorda totaled 37 assists, and Mussman 11 digs in the Mustangs' convincing win.

The Mustangs are in Mishawaka and South Bend, Ind., for the Crosstown Showdown on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 27-28,