Warriors Drop Opening Match of Pool Play to Eastern Oregon

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – For the 11th time in 12 seasons, Midland University competed inside the Tyson Events Center, the final site of the NAIA Volleyball Championship. On day one, the 19th-seeded Warriors faced 6th-seeded Eastern Oregon University in a Pool F matchup. The closely contested match ended with the Mountaineers edging the Warriors in four sets, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18.

The opening set featured six ties in the first 14 points. Eastern Oregon broke a 7-7 tie, going ahead 9-7, and used a five-point run to extend its lead to 20-11. The Mountaineers pushed their advantage to 24-15 before Midland strung together five points, forcing a timeout. Eastern closed out the set 25-20 to take the early lead.

In the second set, Midland surged ahead with an 8-1 run, fueled by strong defense and service aces from Delainey Cast and Brena Mackling. The Warriors extended their lead to double digits at 16-6 after a kill by Lauren Williams. Following a block by Williams and Cameran Jansky, consecutive kills by Jansky and Brooklynn Snyder made it 22-9. Eastern challenged late, fending off six set points to narrow the margin to 24-20. Midland regrouped, with Abbey Ringler delivering the decisive kill to win the set 25-20 and even the match.

The third set was a battle throughout, featuring 14 ties and five lead changes. The Warriors started strong with a Snyder kill and a service ace by Delanie Vallinch. Midland held a narrow 23-22 lead late, but Eastern Oregon tied it and took the final three points to win 25-23 and gain a 2-1 edge.

In the fourth set, Eastern used a six-point run to build an early lead after Midland scored the first point. The Warriors rallied to tie the set at 10-10. However, the Mountaineers responded with another six-point spurt. Midland mounted a late comeback, tying the set at 18-18, but Eastern closed out the match with a seven-point rally, winning 25-18.

Statistically, the teams were evenly matched. Midland recorded a .158 hitting percentage with 54 kills on 165 attempts, while Eastern hit .201 with 54 kills on 164 attempts. Brena Mackling and Stella Kuehl directed Midland's attack with 25 and 18 assists, respectively.

Brooklynn Snyder led the Warriors with 17 kills, while Claire Johnson added 10. Ringler and Jacki Apel contributed nine kills apiece. Defensively, Lauren Williams tallied seven block assists, and Cameran Jansky added six. As a team, Midland recorded 11 blocks.

In the back row, Delanie Vallinch tallied 18 digs, surpassing 2,000 career digs during the first set. Mackling (14) and Cast (13) also reached double-digit digs.

"I was really proud of how we competed today," said head coach Paul Giesselmann. "Eastern Oregon is a great team with recent Final Four experience, and they are well-coached. Statistically, we were even in several areas and led in a few. The difference came down to their ability to execute at the end of the last two sets."

"This is a learning opportunity," Giesselmann added. "At this level, every touch matters. There were plays we didn't take advantage of, and up here, you pay the price for that. I love how we competed, but now we need to shake this off, learn, and come back strong tomorrow."

Midland (18-12) will aim to bounce back on Thursday against Indiana University Kokomo (32-5) in another pool play match at 4:30 p.m. inside the Tyson Events Center. The teams previously met on August 15 at the Wildcat Invitational in Marion, Indiana.