Dakota Wesleyan University had no answer for Morningside’s efficient offense on Sunday.
The Mustangs recorded a .427 hitting percentage, while the Tigers mustered a .143 hitting percentage in a Great Plains Athletic Conference volleyball sweep at the Corn Palace, 25-17, 25-18 and 25-12.
Morningside had eight attacking errors in 110 attempts and four players registered double-digit kills in the match, handing DWU its third loss in four outings.
The Mustangs maintained a steady lead in the first set, but eventually pushed the lead to 20-12 on three consecutive kills between Kaelyn Giefer and Caitlin Makovicka. Three consecutive errors pulled the Tigers within four, but Morningside answered with five of the final six points to take the first set.
DWU (6-4, 3-4, GPAC) fell into another early hole in the second set, the Mustangs jumping out to a 23-11 advantage. Two blocks, an ace and a kill by Chaydon Metzger allowed the Tigers cut the deficit to six, but a kill by Meredith Hoffman finally put the set away for Morningside.
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Five attacking errors and two service errors once again forced the Tigers to play from behind, but they managed to trim the Mustang lead to 14-10 thanks to three kills by Burke native Taylee Indahl.
The comeback would be brief, however, as Morningside (4-6, 3-4) tallied 11 of the last 13 points in the set. The Mustangs finished the match with nine consecutive kills without an error to seal the match. In total, they had 17 kills and one hitting error in the final frame.
Giefer notched 16 kills, while Krista Zenk had 12 kills and nine digs. Makovicka also had 12 kills, while Meredith Hoffman pitched in 10 and Sabrina Creason handed out 43 assists for Morningside.
Ady Dwight paced DWU with 12 kills and three blocks. Jadie DeLange had six kills and Indahl added five kills. Madeline Else dished out 29 assists and Mariah Gloe had a team-high 12 digs.
The Tigers return to action against Midland at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Corn Palace.
