Knights struggle with attack in three-set loss to Morris
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NEW ULM -- The last time the Martin Luther College Knights met the University of Minnesota Morris Cougars in Morris on Oct. 5, UMM's big block and MLC's attack errors doomed the Knights to a three-set defeat.
Friday night at MLC saw a very similar situation hurt the Knights again as they were swept 25-17, 25-14, 25-21 in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball match.
On Oct. 5, the Knights had 24 errors to the Cougars' four.
MLC (6-18, 3-7) committed 26 errors to UMM's (12-9, 7-2) eight on Friday. While the Cougars had just seven blocks to MLC's five, their defense still made things difficult for the Knights even when not collecting immediate points.
"They have a very solid, well-rounded [team], there aren't a whole lot of errors for us to exploit on their end of the court," MLC head coach Emma Holzhueter said. "So, it means not only do we have to play really well defensively, we also have to play really well offensively because they've got a deep bench and a lot of well-balanced play.
"I do think their block -- we knew going in that their block was going to challenge us. So, when we were doing well, it was executing things that we practiced and when we weren't, I think we were just kind of handling the fact that they do a lot of things well instead of focusing on what we do well."
The Knights were led by Grace Kieselhorst's 12 kills, 12 set assists and eight digs, while Ella Schlei had six kills and Lydia Feidt had four kills, four total blocks and 22 digs. Anna Kieselhorst added 21 digs, while Lauren Paulsen had 18 digs and Ella Walz had 13 set assists.
Anna Molstad led the Cougars' balanced attack with eight kills, while Tori Scheler, Mary Cate Ziembiec and Laura Wellbrock each had seven kills. Lacie O'Leary also had six kills. Molstad and Scheler each added three total blocks.
The Knights fell behind quickly in the opening set after three consecutive attack errors. A kill by Ziembiec put the Cougars up 14-5 moments later, their largest lead of the set. The Knights got an ace by Paulsen and an attack error by UMM to trail 15-12. MLC later trailed 19-16 after a kill from Schlei before the Cougars ended the set with a 6-1 run, with MLC's lone point during the run coming on a kill by Elena Brauer.
The Knights led briefly in the second set, taking a 3-1 lead after an ace by Paulsen and a kill by Grace Kieselhorst. They led 5-3 after another kill from Grace Kieselhorst, but the Cougars were quick to jump ahead 8-5 with a 5-0 run before closing the set on a 6-0 run.
After a service error put the Knights down 21-17 in the third set and Holzhueter took her final timeout, the Knights responded well out of the break and gave their home fans something to cheer about. A kill by Grace Kieselhorst was followed with an ace from Anna Kieselhorst to have the Knights down 21-19. Then one of the longest rallies of the set happened, a rally that the Knights were able to end when Walz set up Grace Kieselhorst for a spike to trail 21-20.
The Cougars got a 3-0 run after that, however, to lead 24-20. Grace Kieselhorst added another kill to her total to keep the game alive before Scheler ended the match with a kill of her own.
"Honestly, I think we're capable of great volleyball against most of the teams that we play, it's a mental choice to get there and to know that we can do it," Holzhueter said. "I think we've just taken our time knowing that we can do it."
The Knights have a quick turnaround when they host Crown College (6-11, 1-8) at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The Knights defeated Crown in four sets on Oct. 4 in St. Bonifacius.
"I think if you just go by their record, you'll be deceived," Holzhueter said. "They're a very scrappy team and they make you work. So, if you want to beat them, you can't underestimate them and you have to stay focused the entire time."