MILWAUKEE – Senior Night for Mount Mary University was celebrated tonight at the Bloechl Center. The Blue Angels were defeated in both contests, the first against Finlandia University 3-1, and the second was 3-0 loss to North Central University (Minn.).
The night had a lot of positives for Blue Angels fans, but just as much heartbreak. In the first contest of the night, the Finlandia Lions took control early with a 25-10 winning set. MMU tried to bounce back right after that in the second set putting together a good stretch at the end, but lost that 25-19. It was the third set were the Blue Angels got on the same page and shook off that 27 set losing streak with a 25-17 set. The final set was taken to extra points, as the back and forth set would finally sway for the Lions 28-26.
On Senior Night Sarah Wishau (Sr./Oak Creek, Wis.) finished the first match with five kills and 10 digs. A solid performance for the senior, but the devastation hit as a last point injury ended the night for Wishau.
An injury to the senior meant that the Blue Angels would have to reshuffle the lineup again, and with Bethany Van Hammond (So./Appleton, Wis.) out with injury, Coach Kelsey Peterson had a tough assignment ahead of her. Katie Edwards (Sr./Mackinaw, Ill.) stepped up to the challenge on Senior Night and sparked her team on multiple occasions from the serve line. Edwards only received one service ace, but led her team to six points off her serves in the match against North Central University.
The spark was not enough however, as the Rams swept the Blue Angels 3-0. After the first 25-8 loss, the Blue Angels mustered 18 and 19 points respectively in the final sets.
A sad night for MMU fans, not only did Wishau have to leave with injury, but it was the final home contest of Wishau and Edward's collegiate careers for Blue Angels volleyball. The silver lining is that fans got to see Edwards step up and try to rally the troops for the final time on the Bloechl Center floor. Fans had a chance to say goodbye and thank the two seniors for all the memories, and that is what was important.
In the neutral game between Finlandia University and North Central University, the teams stretched into the fifth set. A great match that ended in a 3-2 victory for Finlandia.
After tonight's triangular, the Blue Angels travel to Beloit College for a Tuesday night contest. The match on Oct. 21st begins at 7:00 pm.
