MILWAUKEE -- The visiting Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles defeated the Mount Mary University volleyball team 3-1 today at the Bloechl Center. The Eagles are now 3-20 on the season while the Blue Angels are now 4-21.
Adrianna Nester (Sr./Anaheim, Calif.) led the Blue Angels again against the Eagles today at the Bloechl. After tying the program's single-match record for service aces in a win over Faith Baptist the previous night, Nester returned on Saturday to land a team high 17 kills. Nester also led MMU in digs with 42; the new mark sets another program record for digs in a single match, previously held by Rebecca Elmer ('11) with 39 in 2011.
With multiple long points, MMU saw five different Blue Angels finish the contest with 20 or more digs: Alessa Nelson, Brianna Ecker, Jacklyn Mozdzen, Adrianna Nester and Megan Johnson.
Senior Alessa Nelson (Rockford, Ill.) led the team in service aces against the Eagles with five. Teammate Brianna Ecker (Fr./Fond du Lac, Wis.) helped the team's offense going with a season-high 27 assists. Along with her team leading total in assists, Ecker added four kills and 29 digs.
Jacklyn Mozdzen (So./Wautoma, Wis.) was second on the team with eight kills, 30 assists and a team-high two block assists.
Early in the first set, the Blue Angels came out firing with a 10-5 lead. After the two teams traded points, the Eagles began a 9-1 run that gave them the lead. FBBC landed 10 kills on their 51 attacks while MMU ended the first frame with 12 kills on their 63 total attacks. The Eagles held on for the 25-18 set-win.
MMU took a few early leads in the second set. FBBC again came out with an extended 7-1 run that put them in front in the middle of the set. Both teams landed 12 team kills in the set, but the Eagles took the set 25-19 with their most efficient set of the night.
The Blue Angels turned the tables in the third set, after their opponent took the early lead, MMU sprang for a 9-0 run midway through the set which propelled them into a 17-14 lead which they would not surrender thereafter. MMU finished with their most efficient set of the night with eight team kills and four errors on 47 total attacks. The Blue Angels took the set 25-19 to make the set-score 2-1.
The Eagles took the final set 25-22 in a close back-and-forth. Early in the set, neither team was able to spread the deficit by more than two points until FBBC took a 19-12 lead halfway through the fourth set. MMU surged with a 7-2 run to get the FBBC lead back to 2, but the Eagles were able to hold on for the 25-23 set-win and match-victory.
After today's match, the Blue Angels will return to the Bloechl Center next Fri. Oct. 25 at the MMU Invite. The Blue Angels will host another two-day tournament beginning at 2:30 with MMU taking on Holy Family College. Live stats and video for the invite can be found at MtMaryAthletics.com.