Mount Mercy stays atop North Division with two key, five-set wins

OSKALOOSA, Iowa / DES MOINES, Iowa - The Mount Mercy women's volleyball team extended their winning streak to four after two thrilling Heart of America Athletic Conference victories over the weekend. On Friday, they defeated William Penn 3-2 and followed that up with another 3-2 win over Grand View on Saturday afternoon. It is the first time Mount Mercy has beat Grand View since 2007, snapping a 15-year drought. 

In the first set against William Penn, Mount Mercy led by 10 on three different occasions with the last one being 23-13. The Statesmen had a late run in them, but a Mackenzie Murphy kill finished off the set 25-17. However, in the second set the Mustangs could not find any offensive power and totaled just seven kills. William Penn hit .476 for the 25-9 win to even the match at one set apiece. The third set had many swings; Mount Mercy was up 3-0, then down 8-4 after a William Penn run, and then was all notched up at 12-12. It was back and forth for the rest of the set, but Maggie Peters hammered home the final point at 25-21. After the win and gaining a little momentum, again, the Mustangs came out sluggish in the fourth set and allowed the Statesmen to force a fifth set after the 25-14 loss. 

William Penn (9-10, 5-4 Heart) started the final set with two service aces and a kill for the early 3-0 lead, but Mount Mercy stormed back for the 5-3 lead and a Statesmen timeout. William Penn would get within two, at the 8-6 mark, but a block assist from Jenna Brown and Murphy, followed by a solo block from Katie Kopriva extended the lead to four and the energy favored Mount Mercy. The Statesmen had a final push at 14-12, but Murphy couldn't be stopped as she drilled home her 15th kill for the match point, 15-12 win. Peters joined Murphy with 15 kills. Hailey Hested finished with 41 assists and 10 digs. Rylie Mussman led the Mustangs with 16 digs. 

Saturday's matchup at Grand View felt like deja vu with Friday's game against William Penn. The Mustangs took a 12-12 tie and never lost the lead again; a Kopriva kill ended the first set 25-21. The Mustangs trailed the majority of the second set, but were able to come back and level it at 22-all and again at 24. The Vikings used consecutive kills to hang on for the 26-24 set two win. Mount Mercy built an early four point lead and controlled the remainder of the third set. Murphy had five kills in the set and contributed heavily to Mount Mercy's best hitting performance of the match. Brown recorded the final point of the third set, 25-20. The Mustangs had another early lead, but this time the Vikings slowly climbed back to tie it at 12 apiece. From there, Grand View (6-14, 5-7 Heart) went on a 13-2 tear to runaway with the fourth set, 25-14. 

The fifth set showcased 11 ties and eight lead changes before Mount Mercy (15-4, 8-3 Heart) was able to break through. The Mustangs gained the lead 12-11 after a Grand View miscue. Mount Mercy called a timeout with the lead and it gave them the extra burst of energy needed. Out of the timeout, Mount Mercy received back-to-back kills from Cassidy Boche and Kopriva. The Vikings called timeout to slow down the Mustangs, but it didn't work. Boche came up with one of her biggest solo blocks of her career for the 15-11 five-set win. Murphy paced Mount Mercy with 17 kills, Kopriva added 14, and Peters 10. Murphy also finished with 25 digs and Mussman grabbed 24, respectively. 

Mount Mercy will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 7 as 10th-ranked Park (Mo.) (14-4, 8-1 Heart) comes to town. This Heart matchup begins at 7:00 pm inside Hennessey Rec. Center and features the top teams from each division.