Mustang volleyball falls to Pioneers, Pirates

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Mount Mercy women's volleyball team dropped a pair of Heart of America Athletic Conference matches over the weekend, wrapping up the season with a 3-2 defeat at MidAmerica Nazarene on Friday before a 3-0 loss at fourth-ranked Park on Saturday.

MidAmerica Nazarene (15-16, 10-8 Heart) outlasted Mount Mercy on Friday, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 15-6. Maggie Peters hit .452 while finishing with a team-high 23 kills and four total blocks. Mackenzie Murphy added 14 kills and 17 digs, Cassidy Boche 13 kills. Hailey Hested tallied 54 assists, Rylie Mussman 26 digs, and Olivia Makinen five blocks.

Saturday's match featured a Park squad looking to maintain a perfect record in conference play, and they did just that, sweeping Mount Mercy, 25-22, 25-20, 25-11, to finish the regular season at 25-2 overall and 18-0 in the Heart. Murphy was the kills leader against the Pirates with seven kills to go along with 10 digs and three blocks. Makinen, Peters, Boche, and Kendall McNaull had four kills apiece. Hested finished with 20 assists and 10 digs, McNall added four blocks.

The Mustangs wrap the 2021 season with an overall record of 13-15, including a 9-10 mark in the Heart.