WHITING, Ind.-- Today at the Rittenmeyer Center, host Calumet College of St. Joseph defeated the Mount Mary University volleyball team in a five-set match. The Blue Angels are now 2-19 on the season while the Crimson Wave move to 2-15.
For the second straight match, Brianna Ecker (Fr./Fond du Lac, Wis.) led the Blue Angels on offense. The freshman Blue Angels landed a total 13 kills to lead her team tonight at the Rittenmeyer Center. Ecker kept the entire offense going for the Blue Angels leading with 18 assists and 17 digs.
Along with her play between the lines, Ecker also led the Blue Angels with a season-high eight service aces. The all-time single season record for service aces for MMU volleyball is nine set by Payton Hintz ('18).
Jacklyn Mozdzen (So./Wautoma, Wis.) was second on the Blue Angels in kills with eight. Teammate Alessa Nelson () helped the Blue Angels offense with 16 assists, which was also second on the team.
MMU scored twenty or more in all four of the possible sets. In the very first set, the Crimson Wave grabbed an early lead on a pair of extended runs. Calumet landed nine team kills in the opening set. MMU came up with six team kills, but the Crimson Wave took the set 25-22.
The Blue Angels hit with their most efficient frame of the night with 10 team kills and only two errors in the set in the second. After an early 10-point run headed by Lauren Nylund (So./Muskego, Wis.), the Blue Angels would never surrender the lead for the rest of the set. MMU held on to the set and grabbed the 25-18 win.
In the third set, the Blue Angels quickly came back from a 6-0 deficit and took a 12-8 lead that was capped off by a Lauren Nylund service ace. MMU connected with 11 team kills off 34 total attacks. After the Blue Angels led by six, the Crimson Wave came back to tie things at 24-24. MMU recaptured the lead late and with the score at 26-25, Ecker landed one of her service aces to give MMU the 27-25 set-win.
MMU grabbed an early lead in the fourth set, but Calumet responded a five-point run that gave them the lead for the remainder of the set. Although MMU cut the deficit down to two on multiple occasions, the Crimson Wave head their biggest offensive set of the night with 15 kills on 49 total attacks. Calumet went on to take the set 25-22.
In the final set, the teams were tied seven separate times. MMU landed six team kills in the set, but two late service aces by the Crimson Wave and a 6-1 run gave Calumet the fifth set-victory and the overall win.
The Blue Angels will return to action next Fri. Oct. 18 at the Holy Family Invitational. The triangular will see the Blue Angels open the evening of play up against host Holy Family at 3:00 pm. Check back to MtMaryAthletics.com for news and updates.
