Mount Mary University volleyball is heading to Hancock, Mich. to play in the Finlandia University Invitational. The invite will span over Friday Sept. 26th to Saturday Sept. 27th, with two games a day for the Blue Angels. Host Finlandia University will be the first match for MMU, starting at 1:00 pm on Friday.
In the 2012-13 season, the Blue Angels beat Finlandia at the Northland International Invite. The game went heavily in favor of the Navy Halos, a big 25-7 first set laid down the tone for the match. It led to a big 3-0 final match score, and it began the momentum necessary for the Blue Angels to go on and win the championship at the invitational. In fact, the previous six matches between Finlandia University and the Blue Angels has gone in favor of MMU.
Immediately following the Finlandia match, the Blue Angels will face Grace Bible College. Since 2009, the series record between MMU and GBC is 10-2 in favor of the Navy Halos. The last two matches, however, have gone in favor of the Tigers 3-0 and 3-2 respectively.
Day two of the tournament has MMU facing familiar opponent Alverno College. The last time these two teams met was earlier this season on Sept. 13 where the Inferno swept the Blue Angels in a 3-0 match. The first two sets would be predominantly Alverno 25-12 and 25-10, but the youthful resilience of the team started to show through during the third set as MMU would put up 18 points in the final frame.
The final match of the invite for the Blue Angels will be against Maranatha Baptist University. MBU has been on top of their game this season, not only against the Navy Halos in the 3-0 win for Maranatha, but with a 14-5 record on the season, the Sabercats have defeated some tough opponents. Some common opponents this season are Rockford University and Concordia University Chicago, both teams beat MMU 3-0 and both RU and CUC lost to the Sabercats 3-0. It will be a tough test to end the invitational for the Blue Angels, but the resolve of this season's team has been evident throughout the year.
With an injury still lurking on the roster, the Blue Angels will have to work without the team's leader in assists Payton Hintz (Fr./Almond, Wis) with 155 this season. The adjustment will force Molly Peck (Fr./Milwaukee, Wis.) to give up her position in the libero slot, thus bringing Bethany Van Hammond (So./Appleton, Wis.) in to fill that position in the back court.
After the weekend's double doubleheader, the Blue Angels will invite Northland International University back for a rematch on Thursday Oct. 2 starting at 7:30 pm. NIU won in 3-1 match during the Inferno-Angels Classic on Sept. 20th, but the Blue Angels will hope to get healthy in the meantime to see if they can turn the tables.
