MINNEAPOLIS – The Mount Mary University volleyball team lost a pair of matches today at the North Central University Triangular. The losses drop the Blue Angels to 4-14 on the season before they prepare for their Association of Division III Independents rival Maranatha Baptist University Oct. 18.
The host Rams won the first match against MMU 25-13, 25-20, 25-18. With a .206 kill percentage, the Rams got the separation they needed with 33 team kills, 13 errors on 97 total attacks.
Despite losing the match 3-0, the Blue Angels led in every set against NCU. In the second set, MMU was down 9-15. With a service ace by Alyssa Nelson (Jr./Rockford, Ill.) and solid defense from the front line defender Sarah Amoroso (Jr./Wauwatosa, Wis.), the Blue Angels went on a 9-0 run to capture the lead briefly.
That second set saw the most effective strike from the Blue Angels as they had nine team kills, six errors on 35 total attacks.
Teammates Payton Hintz (Jr./Almond, Wis.) and Lauren Harris (So./Sheridan, Ill.) led the offensive attack with four kills each on 17 and 15 total attacks respectively. Marissa Tun (Jr./Greenfield, Wis.) led MMU with a pair of service aces.
The Blue Angels came out attacking in their second match of the day. Playing AD3I foe Finlandia, MMU had one of their most effective sets of the season hitting nine kills, two errors on 17 total attacks for a killing percentage of .412. MMU took that first set 25-19, but could not keep the attack as accurate in the final three frames.
The Lions stormed back and won the final sets 25-11, 25-18, 25-15 to take the win.
Harris set the pace for the Blue Angels offense as she had a team leading eight kills on 28 total attacks. Katy Carlson (So./Whitewater, Wis.) was right behind Harris's pace with six kills on 13 attacks.
Hintz lifted the offense in the second match also, this time from the serve line as she hit four service aces to lead her squad on the night.
MMU will continue the season with an AD3I match against longtime rival Maranatha Baptist University (14-4). The Bloechl Center will play host for the Tues. Oct. 18 contest. First serve for the game will be 7:00 pm. Live stats and video will be made available at mtmaryathletics.com.
