Courtesy of Midland Athletics
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. – Midland University picked up a pair of wins on the first day of the Labor Day Classic in North Sioux City, South Dakota on Friday. The No. 2-ranked Warriors overcame a handful of deficits in their first match with No. 4-ranked Park University. The two teams gave the fans in attendance their money’s worth with a high-level five-set match won by Midland. The second match saw the Warriors exhibit a business-like approach, dispatching Evangel University in straight sets.
Midland 3, Park 2 (25-18, 25-27, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13)
In the marquee matchup of the weekend event, the Warriors and Pirates showed why they are ranked near the top of the NAIA Coaches’ Poll yet again this year. The final point total showed a difference of just one point (87-86) over the five-set match and saw three sets decided by a minimum of two points.
Midland got the first two points via ace-serves by Hope Leimbach, setting the tone. From her setter position, she guided the Warriors to a .350 hitting percentage and a wire-to-wire win.
Park changed up their strategy in the second, implementing a bigger defensive lineup when they held the serve. That allowed them to take big leads early in each of the final four sets.
They took sets two and three thanks in part to the separation they created at the start of each set.
Set four saw Park take another big lead but the veterans on Midland’s side willed their team back into the set. A 5-0 run, which saw the Pirates burn both of their timeouts, set them up for success as they sent the match to a deciding fifth set.
In the fifth, Park was in control before the flipping of sides. They built an 8-3 lead and induced Midland into both of their timeouts.
After the flip, the momentum didn’t travel with the Pirates as Midland went on an impressive 9-2 run. They did it little by little. Earning each point along the way. Leading 12-10, they willed themselves to the come-from-behind win, sealed on a kill by Brooke Fredrickson.
For the match, Fredrickson was huge on the attack with 20 kills. She had plenty of company with Lauren Williams punching home 16 kills, including a pair of shots down the line that was too hot to handle by the Pirates’ best defenders. Taliyah Flores and Abbey Ringler joined them in double-figures with 13 and 10, respectively, while Lauryn Samuelson floored 8 balls. Leimbach had a match-high 62 assists and added 3 kills of her own.
Defensively, four players reached double-digits for the Warriors. Delanie Vallinch had a match-high 21, Fredrickson tallied 17, and Leimbach and Flores each dug up 14. At the net, Midland had 11 blocks as a team. Samuelson got a hand in on seven, including for solo stops from the middle.
After the match, head coach Paul Giesselmann had this to say. “There was some high-level volleyball in this match. Everybody was around the court watching. It was a great atmosphere. I’m just really proud because we dug ourselves a hole several different times and our team showed a lot of mental toughness to come back. We didn’t quit. We didn’t worry about what the score was. We just played for the next point. The girls just kept battling back and making plays. These girls know how to play and want to compete.
Midland 3, Evangel 0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-22)
After a little bit of rest and a chance to recharge, the Warriors were back on the court for their final match of the day against the Valor. Coach Giesselmann challenged the team before the match to come out with the same focus they had earlier, and they did just that.
Midland routed Evangel in sets one and two, connecting on 27 kills against 6 errors on the attack. They hit .400 in the first and .391 in the second while limiting Evangel to .000 in both sets.
Pacing the Warriors’ attack in the first set were Savanna Berger and Abbey Ringler. The duo each had five kills while Addisyn Mosier had a pair of kills, including the final point.
Ringler matched that number in second as well while six of her teammates all registered a kill as well. Taliyah Flores and Hope Leimbach, who often is on the setting up of the attack, each had a pair of kills.
In the third, Midland’s offense was well-balanced again with six players converting on an attack. Flores led the way with five, three of which came down the stretch as Evangel stayed close throughout.
For the match, the Warriors hit .333 with nine different players getting a kill. Ringler led the way with 13 while Flores had 8 and Mosier finished with 6.
Defensively, Delanie Vallinch had 13 digs to lead the way. Flores and Brooke Fredrickson each had seven. At the net, Midland had just five blocks. Berger led the team with three block assists.
“I was really proud of our girls in the second match because we’ve been working getting them to understand that regardless of who the opponent is, we have got to keep our mental focus,” said head coach Paul Giesselmann. “After the huge win over last year’s national runner-up [Park], I was concerned about whether we were going to have that same level of focus. The way came out in the first two games, I thought we did a really good job. We were able to get some other kids in the match and rest some arms and legs for tomorrow. Great first day, I’m really happy with what we did.”
Midland (9-1) will continue its play in the Labor Day Classic on Saturday with two more matches on its schedule. They’ll face Tennessee Southern (3-7) at 11:00 a.m. and Rocky Mountain (4-3) at 3:00 p.m.
