MILWAUKEE – Tonight at the Bloechl Center, the Mount Mary University volleyball team dropped both contests in the Mount Mary Triangular. Finlandia defeated the Blue Angels 3-1 in the first match, then the Lions went on to win 3-1 over Grace Bible in match two. In the triangular's finale, the Blue Angels took the visiting Tigers all the way to the last possible point, but the Tigers would hold on for the 3-2 win. The losses move MMU to 2-16 on the season.
The first match the Lions took the first set 25-19. In that set the Blue Angels were their own worst enemies finishing with a -.030 hitting percentage. The nine kills and just five assists for Finlandia were the difference to take the lead 1-0.
MMU came fighting back in the second. As the Blue Angels went on the offensive, they finished with a match high nine team kills to just seven errors. The more aggressive approach earned the Blue Angels a 25-21 win over the Lions in the second set to tie it up.
Another hard fought set in the third for both teams, but the Lions got the upper hand and went on to take the lead 2-1 after winning 26-24 in the third. Finlandia took that momentum into the last frame as they would go on to win it 25-19 and thus taking the game 3-1.
Natalia Vazquez and Katelyn Anderson each contributed a team leading nine kills to their team's offense. Vazquez would finish with no errors and an amazing .529 hitting percentage. Teammate Emma Nelson led her team with 17 assists and four service aces.
Lauren Harris (Fr./Sheridan, Ill.) led the Blue Angels offense with 10 kills. Fellow Blue Angel Katy Carlson (Fr./Whitewater, Wis.) ended with eight kills, but only two errors and a solid .167 hitting percentage. Julia Terasa (Jr./Waukesha, Wis.) led the game with 18 assists.
Finlandia went on to take the second match of the night against Grace in a 19-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-18 match.
In the third and final match of the evening, both MMU and Grace Bible left it all out on the court. The Blue Angels came out getting ahead as they were as precise as they could be finishing with a team .073 hitting percentage. The ten errors by the Tigers in the set gave the Blue Angels a little edge, and MMU would take that all the way to a 25-20 winning set.
The Tigers came right back. A total turnaround for Grace Bible as they hit .167 as a team with 12 kills and just six errors. The Blue Angels battled just as hard as the first, but the precision of the Tigers gave them a 25-21 win in the second set to tie it up.
MMU went to win the next set 25-23 as they had a night leading 56 total attacks in the set. Right after the Tigers tied it up in the fourth set with a 25-19 win.
The final frame saw the Blue Angels get ahead 8-1. After three straight spurts of 3-1 scoring by the Tigers, the game saw an 11-11 tie. Back and forth the two team trade points until the Tigers would take the final three points and the 18-16 win to take the match.
Amy Leszinske for Grace Bible led the contest with 16 kills and 18 points. Teammate Abby Schultz ended the match with a leading 38 assists.
Katy Carlson took the lead in kills for MMU with 13. Blue Angels Payton Hintz (So./Almond, Wis.) and Julia Terasa each spread out the ball as much as they could finishing with 19 and 22 assists respectively.
Following today's triangular, the Blue Angels will get ready to finish off the 2015 regular season on the road. First stop is Emmaus, a team the Blue Angels defeated 3-1 earlier in the season. The match is set for Thu. Oct. 29 beginning at 6:00 pm.
