Morningside battles strong competition at William Penn

OSKALOOSA, Iowa – Morningside was on the volleyball court for the third straight day Saturday, taking on Health Sciences and Pharmacy and William Penn at William Penn Saturday.

Despite falling in five sets to UHSP and four to No. 5 William Penn, the Mustangs showed their ability to compete.

UHSP entered Saturday's match with a 10-4 record, and nine of those 10 wins came by sweep. While the Mustangs came up short 25-22, 18-25, 19-25, 25-23, 10-15 against UHSP, they managed to find success. They hit .342 in the first set and .467 in the fourth set, winning both sets with 18 kills in each. In the fifth set, Morningside had eight kills and a .227 hitting percentage, but UHSP was on a roll, recording 11 kills and zero errors in the set. 

Natan Alves was used heavily in the attack for Morningside, swinging 52 times and recording 24 kills. Alves also scooped up 11 digs. Isaiah Baynes had 16 kills and 10 digs. Jacob Baynes contributed 14 kills. Jacob DePauw dealt 53 assists and Owen Anderson recorded 13 digs.

Morningside did something UHSP wasn't able to Saturday, and that is win a set against the No. 5 Statesmen. William Penn swept UHSP Saturday morning to start the triangular, but Morningside wasn't going to suffer the same fate to end the day. 

Morningside won set one 27-25 before falling 25-15, 25-18, and 25-10 to fall to William Penn. The Mustangs improved throughout the match from an attacking standpoint, seeing their hitting percentage go from .095 in a set one win to a .103 and .121 in sets two and three. The problem was, the highly ranked Statesmen also increased their efficiency, hitting .400 and .289 in the second and third after a .184 in set one.

Morningside ran out of gas in set four, as playing its fourth match in three days started to wear on the Mustang hitters. The fresher William Penn continued its strong performance with a .467 percentage to win the match.

Alves was relied on again, as he tied for the match-high with 15 kills, and he added eight digs. DePauw dished out 30 assists and Isaiah Baynes added nine kills. Owen Anderson finished with 10 digs for Morningside. 

The Mustangs (8-8, 3-0) will face some familiar faces next weekend. Morningside heads to Salina, Kansas to play in the Kansas Wesleyan Tournament March 8-9. Morningside will see Central Christian and Kansas Wesleyan for the second time this season, but this time in non-conference action. The Mustangs defeated both teams last week at home to open GPAC play. 

Morningside will also face St. Ambrose for a third time this season. The Bees and Mustangs met in Sioux City and Davenport already this season, with Morningside winning both matches. The fourth opponent for the weekend is Simpson.