Hested and Mussman Surpass Career Dig Milestones Despite Loss to the Statesmen

OSKALOOSA, Iowa | Two milestones were surpassed despite a hard-fought five-set match against the Statesmen of William Penn 3-2, with set scores of 23-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-20, and 15-11.

Opening the match, the Statesmen would take the first set after recording 12 kills with a .186 hitting percentage. In set two, the Mustangs bounced back from an early loss to take set two after a .130 hitting percentage to pair with 15 team kills. Set three would go to the Statesmen 27-25 in a point-for-point battle for the lead in the match. By winning set four 25-20, the Mustangs would send the match to a deciding fifth set, where the Statesmen would end up on top, winning the match 3-2 after taking set five 15-11. 

Jenna Brown and Mary Kate Bendlage were the leading attackers for the Mustangs as they recorded 19 kills, with Brown having a .286 hitting percentage and Bendlage with a .111 hitting percentage. Hailey Hested ended the match with 54 assists, placing her within the top ten of all-time assists recorded in a five-set match and 24 digs, surpassing her career digs over 1,000. Rylie Mussman also hit a milestone in the match as she recorded 23 digs, surpassing 2,000 career digs.

The Statesmen were led by Alyvia Johnson with a .333 hitting percentage with 18 kills and 29 digs. Lydia Huston ended the match with 27 assists. 

The Mustangs are back at home on Tuesday, October 8th, as they face off with the Wildcats of Culver-Stockton in a conference matchup, starting at 7:00 PM CDT.