Sioux City, Iowa – The stage was set for the Bulldogs as they made their way to the long-awaited NAIA National Tournament. After extending their season with an opening round victory over Texas Wesleyan, they would battle the Midland University Warriors who came into the contest with a recent victory over Grand View to make their way to the National Tournament.
The Basics
Location: Tyson Event Center
Records: MC 33-2, MU 19-11
Score: MC 3, MU 0
How it Happened
The first set was eventful to say the least.
It would be Midland leading the way in the early going of the opening set, starting the game off with a 4-1 run following a service error from Brooke McHale. Head coach of the Bulldogs, Cory Cahill, operated business as usual and kept his timeouts in his back pocket, letting his team battle it out on the court. A combined block from Roxanna Varela Parra and Enya Fierens leveled the match at 5-5 in the early going. From this point on, it was a ping pong match on the scoreboard as neither side could pull away from the opposition. With McPherson ahead 24-23 with set point, Midland forced the attack error from Logan Hamilton to play more volleyball in the first set. It wouldn’t be until McHale’s service ace where the Bulldogs took the first set by way of 30-28. The Bulldogs hit .200 in the set on 45 total attacks with 16 kills.
Set two began in a familiar fashion as Midland started with the advantage, but this time climbing to a six-point lead at 9-3 after a kill by Midland’s Lauren Williams. The Bulldogs were able to dig deep once again and formulate a 9-2 run to then take the lead at 12-11 following another combined block by Varela Parra and Fierens, forcing the first timeout of the set by the Warriors. The Bulldogs rolled on in dominant fashion to win the second set 25-20 following McHale’s kill to end it.
In the final set, it was the Bulldogs getting ahead early and holding a lead for nearly the entire set, making their way to an eventual 25-19 third set victory to complete the opening round sweep over Midland. McPherson was led offensively by Brooke McHale who finished with 14 kills (.312) with a service ace and five digs.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will be back in the Tyson Events Center on Friday as they’ll take on the University of Cumberlands for a chance to move on to the NAIA National Tournament Quarterfinal. First serve is set for 12:00 PM on December 5th.
