Senior night sweep earns Mustangs the #3 seed in Heart Tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Mount Mercy women's volleyball team capped off a stellar regular season with a sweep over Clarke (4-26, 3-15 Heart) on senior night. Tonight six Mustangs were honored- Cassidy Boche, Maddy Gates, Katie Kopriva, Kendall McNaull, Mackenzie Murphy, and Laila Sain ahead of their matchup with the Pride. With scores of 25-16, 25-16, and 25-15, the Mustangs earned their 11th sweep of the year to finish at 22-6, 15-3 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play heading into the postseason.

Mount Mercy led by as many as seven points in every set including by 10 on a few occasions in the second and third. Hailey Hested and Kopriva teamed up for a little 4-0 run in in the first to extend their lead. In the second Falynn Buehler's three aces led to a 6-0 run coupled with three Murhpy kills in a span of four points later on. The third set saw McNaull tally back-to-back kills twice. 

For the second consecutive match, the middle hitters paced the Mustangs hitting over five-hundred. Madi Havermann hit .750% on three kills, Jenna Brown .667% on two kills, and McNaull .529% on nine kills. That trio combined for an impressive zero errors. Kopriva had a match-best 12 kills and Murphy added 10. Rylie Mussman picked up 17 digs, Murhpy 12, Kopriva eight, and Baylee Russ five on defense for Mount Mercy. 

With the win, Mount Mercy solidifies the third seed in the Heart Conference Tournament earning a home match. The Mustangs will host sixth-seed MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (14-12, 10-7 Heart) in a quarterfinal on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 2:00 pm inside Hennessey Rec Center. In their only matchup of the season, the Mustangs defeated the Pioneers 3-1. Saturday's quarterfinal winners will play on Tuesday, Nov. 7 in the Heart semifinals with the championship on Saturday, Nov. 11 for an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament the following week. For the complete schedule of the Heart Tournament, please click here.