Brown, Havermann push Mustangs to weekend split

PARKVILLE, Mo. / ATCHISON, Kan. - Over the weekend, the Mount Mercy women's volleyball team traveled to their first road Heart of America Athletic Conference matches. On Friday night the Mustangs faced eighth-ranked, Park (Mo.) (25-19, 14-25, 15-25, 22-25) and lost 3-1, but followed that performance up with a 3-1 (25-16, 24-26, 25-21, 28-26) win of their own over Benedictine (Kan.) on Saturday morning. 

Mount Mercy came out strong in the opening set against the Pirates, leading by as many as seven on a few different occasions. Park got as close as three, 19-16, but the Mustangs held on to secure the first set with consecutive kills from Hallie Bedier and Jenna Brown to seal the deal. Park would go on to win the next three sets, but Mount Mercy did not go down with a fight and proved they could compete with the best. Mackenzie Murphy finished with 15 kills, Madi Havermann eight, and Brown five. Havermann recorded five blocks and Brown added four of her own. Mount Mercy out-blocked Park 18-8.

The Mustangs carried their block party from Friday night over to Saturday morning, this time amassing 35, compared to just 21 for the Ravens. To even out their game plan, the Mount Mercy offense totaled 57 kills on a .195 attack percentage, while Benedictine (10-3, 1-1 Heart) only had 49 kills and hit .112. The Mustangs took the first set easily before dropping set two. After winning the third, Mount Mercy needed extra points to win the fourth and the match. Back-to-back kills from Brown gave the Mustangs the 24-22 advantage, but the Ravens were able to win the next point. The two teams traded points until the 26-26 all mark, where a kill from Havermann followed by an error from Benedictine gave Mount Mercy the win. Rylie Mussman collected her fifth 20-dig outing and 11th straight match with more than 10 digs. 

Brown and Havermann were huge for Mount Mercy, both having career days. Brown hit .342 and racked up a career-high 18 kills, seven of which came in the fourth set. Not only was she a force to be reckoned with on offense, but she added nine. The other middle, Havermann kept pace, hitting .316 and recording her first double-double in a Mustang uniform with 10 kills and 10 blocks. Havermann and Brown's nine block assists are tenth all-time at Mount Mercy. 

Mount Mercy (10-4, 2-1 Heart) has another week break before they continue their road stint and travel to Missouri for two more Heart matches against Missouri Valley (6-8, 1-2 Heart) at 7:00 pm on Friday, Sept. 22 and 20th-ranked Central Methodist (8-5, 2-1 Heart) at 11:00 am Saturday, Sept. 23.