The first match of the day pitted two teams that both received votes in the NAIA preseason poll. Hastings (Neb.) College (2-0), which received 38 votes in the poll and was picked to finish fifth in the rugged Great Plains Athletic Conference, pulled out a 29-27 victory in the first set only to see MVNU (1-1) roll to a 25-12 win in the second set. Then, the Broncos posted victories in the third and fourth sets by the scores of 25-15 and 25-17 to take the match.

Sophomore middle hitter Gina Porto (left) led the Lady Cougars, who received a vote in the preseason poll and were picked to finish third in the American Mideast Conference, with 13 kills and three blocks. Junior middle hitter Jackie Albrecht added 11 kills and five blocks, while senior right-side hitter Courtney Springer finished with eight kills and a team-high 17 digs. Senior setter Kaylin Austen handed out 35 assists, and freshman defensive specialist Lauren Percival and junior defensive specialist Caitlin Myles contributed 16 and 14 digs respectively.

“(Hastings) is a very good team and this was a great match to start the season,” said MVNU coach Paul Swanson. “The first set was back and forth and we just were not able to pull it out. We played well in the second set, but then we just were not consistent enough in the third and fourth sets to beat a quality team like Hastings.”

The second match pitted the Lady Cougars against conference foe Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) College (0-1) in a non-conference match. MVNU swept the match 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 to even its record on the season.

Albrecht led the Lady Cougars with 12 kills, 13 digs, and four blocks in the win over the Lady Raiders, while junior middle hitter Sarah Yutzy added seven kills. Austen handed out 32 assists to go with three blocks, and Porto and freshman middle hitter Haley Nofziger pounded six kills apiece with Nofziger posting a team-high five blocks and Porto finishing with four blocks. Myles registered a team-leading 14 digs and two aces, while senior outside hitter Julie Haumschild also smashed four kills.

“It was nice to get a lot of people into the action in this match,” said Swanson. “We did not play our best, but we did what we had to do in order to pick up the victory. We need to keep working on getting more consistent with our play.”

MVNU will return to action at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday when the Lady Cougars will take on Notre Dame College. Then, MVNU will square off with host Daemen at 2:00 p.m. to wrap up play in the tournament.