When Northland International University (8-6) comes back to the Bloechl Center to play the 0-18 Mount Mary University volleyball team, the Blue Angels will be ready to play despite the reordered roster. After four game weekend, and a tough match against Indiana University Northwest, MMU has had time to get comfortable in their new positions.
Since the Inferno-Angels Classic on Sept. 19th, setter Payton Hintz (Fr./Almond, Wis.) has suffered a nagging injury that has kept her off the court. In order to regain some of the consistency from Hintz's setter role, Molly Peck (Fr./Milwaukee, Wis.) has moved to setter while surrendering the libero role to Bethany Van Hammond (So./Appleton, Wis.). Hintz leads the team still with 155 assists, but in the interim Molly Peck has helped out with 41 assists of her own as she familiarizes herself with the role.
It has just been the "norm" this season for Sarah Wishau (Sr./Oak Creek, Wis.). Wishau again leads the Blue Angels in kills with 109, and has been all over the court hustling her way to lead MMU in digs with 204. The captain has been leading by example, and hopefully the youthful team can start to follow suit.
This is a tough task for the Blue Angels to beat NIU after the Pioneers won in 3-1 match on Sept. 20th and are on a three match winning streak. In contrast, since the retooling on the court, MMU has won only one set to their opponents' 15. There have been bright spots and close sets, but the youthful team has yet to learn the hardest part in sports, to hold onto a lead.
Post-rematch, the Blue Angels will travel down to the Windy City to face the Illinois Institute of Technology for the first time this season. The Scarlet Hawks were the counterpart to the Blue Angels in the Inferno-Angels Classic; the two teams did not have a game against one another. Illinois Tech will host the game on Tuesday Oct. 7th at 7:00 pm.
