Mustangs rebound from first home loss

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – One day after suffering their first loss at home to Benedictine, the Mount Mercy women's volleyball team rebounded with a three-set sweep of Baker in Heart of America Athletic Conference action on Saturday at Hennessey Recreation Center.

Mount Mercy entered Friday's match with Benedictine with a perfect 5-0 mark at home, but the Ravens weren't having it, handing the Mustangs a 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 straight-set defeat. Maggie Peters and Torie Alexander led Mount Mercy with seven kills apiece. Hailey Hested tallied 23 assists. With a team-best 18 digs, Rylie Mussman led four Mustangs in double figures. Alexander had 12 digs while Mackenzie Murphy and Abby Redmond each had 10. Brooke Beatty had all three of Mount Mercy's service aces.

Saturday's match with Baker was lopsided too, but this time in Mount Mercy's favor as the Mustangs cruised, 25-19, 25-15, 25-17. With a match-high 15 kills, Alexander had a huge match for the Mustangs. Her .652 attack percentage ranks 11th all-time in school history. Mount Mercy had 46 kills as a team and hit .346, with Kendall McNaull contributing nine kills and Cassidy Boche and Peters each adding eight. Hested tallied a match-high 42 assists. Mussman had a team-best 18 digs. Murphy and Boche added 12 and 11 digs respectively. Five different Mustangs had service aces, with Murphy serving two.

The Mustangs improved to 9-11 overall and 5-6 in the Heart. They host Clarke (10-12, 7-4 Heart) at 7:00 pm Tuesday. Mount Mercy returns to the road for matches at Peru State (3-21, 1-9 Heart) on Friday at 3:30 pm and Graceland (1-16, 0-9 Heart) on Saturday at 11:00 am.