Unbeaten M'side rallies to escape BC in five
By Terry Hersom Journal sports editor | Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2007
The best start in school history had earned the Morningside College volleyball team a spot in the NAIA rankings released earlier in the day.
Hours later, though, the Mustangs of Coach Rick Pruett seemed to have forgotten some of the things that helped them sweep their first 10 opponents.
Spotting arch-rival Briar Cliff the first two games in an early season showdown, Morningside regrouped impressively Wednesday night, outlasting the Chargers in a five-game thriller, 27-30, 30-32, 30-24, 30-13 and 15-12.
"It was a great win and a great indicator of the heart of this team,'' said Pruett, who coached at William Penn the last four seasons and has had success at each of three previous schools where he's worked.
It was the first athletic event to be held in newly refurbished Allee Gym, which has been renamed the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center.
A crowd of 1,148, possibly the largest ever to see the crosstown rivals square off in volleyball, made plenty of noise in a facility whose acoustics have changed dramatically with the removal of ceiling tiles that buffered the noise for decades.
It was appropriately loud for a battle that served both teams proud.
"I'd just like to say there's another team in Sioux City (besides Morningside) and they're called the Chargers,'' said longtime Briar Cliff Coach Mary Schroeder-Miller. "And I couldn't be more proud of the way we worked and the class we brought onto the court and the way we battled.''
The five-gamer matched the schools' two meetings of last season, both of which also went the limit. Briar Cliff, however, won both of those, including a similar scenario in which the Chargers lost the first two games.
Junior transfer Amber Jarzynka, an honorable mention NAIA All-American at Bellevue University last year, led the Morningside attack with 23 kills and a hefty .432 hitting percentage.
The rest of the Mustangs weren't nearly as efficient as Morningside finished at .144 as a team while Briar Cliff posted a .110 hitting percentage.
"The first two games, it wasn't us,'' said former Bishop Heelan standout Cassie Cheever, a senior middle hitter who was named Great Plains Athletic Conference player of the week on Tuesday. "We weren't energetic like we normally are. We just needed to pull together. It all finally clicked.''
Cheever added 19 kills, Cara DeStigter totaled 16 and Andra Petersen, Jarzynka's former high school teammate in Blair, Neb., contributed 12 for the Mustangs, now 11-0 overall and 3-0 in Great Plains Athletic Conference play. Junior setter Kali Angerman, an East High product who played two seasons at Barton County Community College in Kansas, directed the attack, distributing 60 kills.
Defensively, Morningside broke a school record of 124 digs against Minnesota-Morris in 1998 with 141 as libero Jericho Johnson totaled 37. DeStigter added 34, a record for non-liberos, while Catie Bobier had 25 and Megan Tuttle 22.
Briar Cliff, led by senior Micaela Borer's 20 kills on the night, grabbed the first two games with strong finishes.
The Chargers broke a 25-25 deadlock by outscoring Morningside 5-2 and finishing off Game 1 with kills by freshman Nicole Hoogeveen and sophomore Alex Anstine.
Morningside led 29-27 in Game 2, but BC fended off two game points, surging in front 30-29, then got a kill from Geri Heimann before a hitting error by the Mustangs gave BC its 32-30 win.
The momentum swung considerably after that.
"We weren't being aggressive enough,'' said Pruett, whose team features a power game with Jarzynka, Cheever, DeStigter and Petersen. "Mary coaches such good defense, I told the girls, 'If we tip on them, we're going to let them in the match. If we go and hit the ball and be aggressive, we're eventually going to wear them out.' ''
Morningside led most of the way in Game 3, opening up a 26-17 cushion before winning 30-24. Game 4, then, was all but a landslide after the Mustangs scored the first four points and jumped ahead 13-3.
In Game 5, Briar Cliff regained its composure and battled all the way to an 11-11 tie. However, Morningside scored four of the next five points to win it, taking advantage of a hitting are and a serving miscue by BC.
Anstine backed up Borer with 14 kills and Hoogeven, a former Sioux Center all-stater, collected 12. Nicolle Donovan distributed 52 assists for the Chargers, now 7-5 overall and 2-1 in GPAC matches. Anstine (37 digs), Kate Boettcher (34) and Chelsie Englund (29) were the defensive leaders for BC.
Hours later, though, the Mustangs of Coach Rick Pruett seemed to have forgotten some of the things that helped them sweep their first 10 opponents.
Spotting arch-rival Briar Cliff the first two games in an early season showdown, Morningside regrouped impressively Wednesday night, outlasting the Chargers in a five-game thriller, 27-30, 30-32, 30-24, 30-13 and 15-12.
"It was a great win and a great indicator of the heart of this team,'' said Pruett, who coached at William Penn the last four seasons and has had success at each of three previous schools where he's worked.
It was the first athletic event to be held in newly refurbished Allee Gym, which has been renamed the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center.
A crowd of 1,148, possibly the largest ever to see the crosstown rivals square off in volleyball, made plenty of noise in a facility whose acoustics have changed dramatically with the removal of ceiling tiles that buffered the noise for decades.
It was appropriately loud for a battle that served both teams proud.
"I'd just like to say there's another team in Sioux City (besides Morningside) and they're called the Chargers,'' said longtime Briar Cliff Coach Mary Schroeder-Miller. "And I couldn't be more proud of the way we worked and the class we brought onto the court and the way we battled.''
The five-gamer matched the schools' two meetings of last season, both of which also went the limit. Briar Cliff, however, won both of those, including a similar scenario in which the Chargers lost the first two games.
Junior transfer Amber Jarzynka, an honorable mention NAIA All-American at Bellevue University last year, led the Morningside attack with 23 kills and a hefty .432 hitting percentage.
The rest of the Mustangs weren't nearly as efficient as Morningside finished at .144 as a team while Briar Cliff posted a .110 hitting percentage.
"The first two games, it wasn't us,'' said former Bishop Heelan standout Cassie Cheever, a senior middle hitter who was named Great Plains Athletic Conference player of the week on Tuesday. "We weren't energetic like we normally are. We just needed to pull together. It all finally clicked.''
Cheever added 19 kills, Cara DeStigter totaled 16 and Andra Petersen, Jarzynka's former high school teammate in Blair, Neb., contributed 12 for the Mustangs, now 11-0 overall and 3-0 in Great Plains Athletic Conference play. Junior setter Kali Angerman, an East High product who played two seasons at Barton County Community College in Kansas, directed the attack, distributing 60 kills.
Defensively, Morningside broke a school record of 124 digs against Minnesota-Morris in 1998 with 141 as libero Jericho Johnson totaled 37. DeStigter added 34, a record for non-liberos, while Catie Bobier had 25 and Megan Tuttle 22.
Briar Cliff, led by senior Micaela Borer's 20 kills on the night, grabbed the first two games with strong finishes.
The Chargers broke a 25-25 deadlock by outscoring Morningside 5-2 and finishing off Game 1 with kills by freshman Nicole Hoogeveen and sophomore Alex Anstine.
Morningside led 29-27 in Game 2, but BC fended off two game points, surging in front 30-29, then got a kill from Geri Heimann before a hitting error by the Mustangs gave BC its 32-30 win.
The momentum swung considerably after that.
"We weren't being aggressive enough,'' said Pruett, whose team features a power game with Jarzynka, Cheever, DeStigter and Petersen. "Mary coaches such good defense, I told the girls, 'If we tip on them, we're going to let them in the match. If we go and hit the ball and be aggressive, we're eventually going to wear them out.' ''
Morningside led most of the way in Game 3, opening up a 26-17 cushion before winning 30-24. Game 4, then, was all but a landslide after the Mustangs scored the first four points and jumped ahead 13-3.
In Game 5, Briar Cliff regained its composure and battled all the way to an 11-11 tie. However, Morningside scored four of the next five points to win it, taking advantage of a hitting are and a serving miscue by BC.
Anstine backed up Borer with 14 kills and Hoogeven, a former Sioux Center all-stater, collected 12. Nicolle Donovan distributed 52 assists for the Chargers, now 7-5 overall and 2-1 in GPAC matches. Anstine (37 digs), Kate Boettcher (34) and Chelsie Englund (29) were the defensive leaders for BC.
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