Volleyball

MILWAUKEE – The Mount Mary College volleyball team opened its season with a strong showing at its home invitational over Labor Day weekend, garnering a 2-2 record and finishing in second place.

The Blue Angels kicked off the tournament Friday morning with a resounding straight-set win over Grace Bible College 25-11, 25-11, 25-10. Mount Mary tallied 13 service aces while hitting a very efficient .250 against the Tigers. Junior outside Stephanie Hardwick (West Allis, Wis.) led the team with 13 kills and nine digs, senior Chelsie Beeler (Jackson, Wis.) tallied 30 assists as the Blue Angels held Grace to a dismal -.130 hitting.

Riding high from its season-opening victory, Mount Mary carried that momentum into its matchup with Crown College in the nightcap Friday, eking out a tight 25-21, 25-23, 25-23 victory. The Blue Angels' defense was in full force against the Storm, securing six total blocks while picking up 54 digs in the three-set sweep. Hardwick again led the way with 16 kills, while sophomore outside Sarah Wishau (Racine, Wis.) added 11 in the front row. Four players had double-digit digs as the Storm were held to a .065 team attack percentage.

"Our team had the opportunity to experience various levels of play," head coach Kelsey Peterson said. "Everyone came out really fired up for our first match against Grace Bible and the excitement of that win carried over when we played Crown College. Crown put up a good fight but we were very scrappy and our hitters played smart."

Saturday pitted the two undefeated teams of the round-robin tournament against one another, as Mount Mary and UW-Superior clashed in the final round of pool play to open the morning. The towering Yellowjackets proved too much for the Blue Angels as they dominated the first set, 25-12. Mount Mary came out hot in the second set though, eventually pushing past UW-Superior with long service runs to hand UW-S its first set loss of the tournament, 25-22. Seemingly, Mount Mary awoke the sleeping giant, as the 'Jackets cruised in the third and fourth sets to seal the match victory 3-1.

Two hours later, a rematch ensued as first place UW-Superior and second place Mount Mary met again in the championship match. This time, Superior wasted no effort in quickly disposing of the Blue Angels, 25-17, 25-14, 25-8, in a match that took just over 45 minutes to complete.

"The [UW-Superior games] were a great learning experience for our players and me," Peterson said. "Even though we lost both, we learned what we need to work on offensively and defensively in the coming weeks. The team's mental toughness was also tested and it was interesting to see how we handled losing after such a successful Friday."

Mount Mary will next travel to Ripon College for a triangular match against the host Red Hawks and Marian University Thursday evening. The Blue Angels will battle the Sabres at 5 p.m., then take on Ripon at 7 p.m.