The Basics
Score: MNU 3 - William Woods 2
Record: MNU (13-8), WWU (0-1)
Location: Anderson Arena - Fulton, Mo.
FULTON, Mo. - The Pioneers won the last 2 sets in a 3-2 victory at William Woods on Saturday. MNU took the 1st set 28-26 before dropping the next two 25-20 and 25-21. The Pioneers rebounded to win the 4th set 25-20, and a 6-point run in the 5th put MNU up big for a 15-8 victory.
"It was a great team win!" said coach
Molly Karagyaurov. "We had to make changes strategically and the girls handled it really well. They stayed focused and took the changes in stride. It would have been easy to roll over and take the loss but they really didn't give up and battled back.
We had 5 women score double digit points which is always huge! Jacque led the way with 19 kills, 2 aces and 3 blocks. Jen had 14 kills, an ace, 2 blocks and added 16 digs to that number. Teresa is showing some guts with another solid game as a freshman with 12 kills and 5 blocks. Rachel had 9 kills and 9 blocks. And Nik had 11 kills and 3 blocks. Diversifying our attack has been a focus in training and it paid off in this match.
But the biggest story in my head was
Olivia Perry who was on JV in the fall and had never even been on the varsity bench; she not only traveled with the team but played 2.5 sets in a very big match. She held her own and showed a lot of maturity. That allowed for us to make the change we needed to and ultimately win the match. I'm really proud of her!
We are nursing some injuries with several starters and these 5 set matches aren't helping anything. But we have another full week to prepare for Saturday and then a quick turn around to the game we have been waiting for since November - the conference tournament at Mount Mercy. I'm very proud of the girls and their continued commitment to the program and to their own individual progress."
Turning Point
MNU won 6 straight points in the 5th to take a 9-2 lead.
Individual Leaders
Jacqueline Calvert recorded 19 kills, 2 aces, and 3 blocks.
Jennifer Roth had 14 kills and 16 digs.
Teresa Saunders added 12 kills and 5 blocks.
Nikoleta Kandic had 11 kills and 3 blocks.
Rachel Dossett added 9 kills and 9 blocks.
Savannah Crossland had 16 digs. And
Kourtney Hansen had 41 assists and 14 digs.
Inside the Box Score
MNU had 9 more blocks than WWU.
Up Next
The next match is Saturday at home Mid-America Christian (9-7) at 11:00.
