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The Pioneers played 4 matches in a tourney hosted by Oklahoma Baptist and came away undefeated over the weekend. In the first match, MNU jumped all over Wiley and won the first set 25-10. Wiley came back to win the second set 25-23, but the Pioneers dominated the next two sets 25-14 and 25-13 to take the match 3-1. Newcomer Zoraida Heredia recorded a double-double in her first match with 13 kills, 13 digs, and 4 blocks. Vladi Kopanarova had 11 kills. Taryn Salum had 32 assists and 4 blocks. Britney Grittman and Emily Hester had 6 blocks apiece, and Tashley Snyder had a match-high 14 digs.
The next match was a huge early-season test as #8 MNU faced host #5 OBU. The Pioneers took the first set 25-23 before dominating the second set 25-17. The Bison turned the tables in Set 3 with a 25-16 victory, but the Pioneers finished the match with a 25-17 victory in the fourth set. Zoraida Heredia came up big again, recording a match-high 15 kills and 14 digs. Taryn Salum had a match-high 27 assists. And Britney Grittman had 6 blocks. It was the first home loss for the Bison since August of 2011.
On Saturday MNU started the day with a 25-9 first-set drubbing of Loyola. The second and third sets were closer and Loyola kept the match alive with a 25-23 victory in Set 3. The Pioneers finished the match with a 25-15 fourth set to win 3-1. Vladi Kopanarova had 11 kills, 5 digs, and 5 blocks. Taryn Salum had 18 assists. And Britney Grittman recorded 7 blocks.
The final match of the tourney was against St. Thomas-Houston, the team MNU defeated in the Opening Round of the 2012 National Tournament. It was another big first set for the Pioneers as they won 25-10. The second set was a bit more competitive but MNU won 25-20 before completing the sweep with a 25-13 third set. Zoraida Heredia had a match-high 11 kills. Vladi Kopanarova also reached double figures with 10 kills. Taryn Salum recorded 23 assists and 5 digs. And Linjun Ji had 6 kills and 8 digs.
MNU is 4-0. The next matches are at the Bellevue Tourney vs. Viterbo, Jamestown, Great Falls, and Doane.
