Mustangs Fall to Flames, Spires

OMAHA, NEB | The Mustangs opened another weekend of double-headers on Friday dropping a pair of losses to the College of Saint Mary 3-1 and the University of Saint Mary 3-1. 

MATCH 1

In the opening match of the day, the Mustangs took an early lead in the match after taking set one 26-24. The Mustangs recorded 15 kills and had a hitting percentage of .220 to hold off the Flames and take the first set. The Flames of the College of Saint Mary answered the Mustang's early lead in the match and would take the next three sets 25-22, 25-16, and 25-23, and the match 3-1 over the Mustangs. 

Jenna Brown and Mary Kate Bendlage led the Mustangs in kills, recording 15 and 14 respectively. Hailey Hested ended the match with 46 assists, ranking her within the top 13 of all-time assists in a four-set match. 

For the Flames, they had three players with double-digit kills, with Grace Werner leading the team with 15 kills. Azaria Green led the Flames with a hitting percentage of .364, helping the team's overall hitting percentage of .258, sealing their win. 

MATCH 2

The Spires took an early 1-0 lead after taking the first set over the Mustangs 25-17. The Mustangs bounced back after the first set loss to take the second set 25-22, tying the match 1-1. After battling point-for-point, the Spires would take the last two sets 25-22 and 25-18 to win the match 3-1. 

Mary Kate Bendlage was a key player in this match, leading the Mustangs with 15 kills along with 13 digs and three block assists. Jenna Brown and Sam Schrage followed right behind her with nine kills apiece. Hailey Hested would end the match with 38 assists. Rylie Mussman added a pair of assists to go with her 17 digs.

The Spires were led offensively by Maizy Giles as she recorded 14 kills to go with her .159 hitting percentage. Ainsley Gardner followed behind Giles with 13 kills to help seal a win for the Spires. 

The Mustangs are back in action Saturday to face Bellevue (NE) at 9:00 AM CDT and Oklahoma Panhandle State at 1:00 PM CDT.