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Mustangs Break Four Records In 2009
Tjaden A Third-Team All-American
Three Mustangs Named To AVCA All-Region Team
Christen And Stehlik Named Scholar-Athletes
Mustangs Wrap Up National Tourney Appearance On Winning Note
Mustangs Drop Close Games Against Texas-Brownsville
Mustangs Drop National Tourney Opener Against Concordia
Three Mustangs Named To All-GPAC First-Team
Vander Kooi Named GPAC Player Of The Week
Nelson Named Libero Of The Week
Vander Kooi Named National Player Of The Week
Tjaden Repeats As Setter Of The Week
Tjaden Named GPAC Setter Of The Week
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Jamie Vander Kooi |
Jamie Vander Kooi, 5-9 senior outside hitter from Hinton, Iowa, received the Most Valuable Player Award for the Morningside College volleyball team when the Mustangs held their post-season awards banquet on Sunday.
Vander Kooi slammed a team-high 484 kills this season for an average of 3.56 per game. She also averaged 3.88 digs per game and topped the Mustangs with 26 double figure kill performances and 19 kill/dig double-doubles. She set a Morningside three-game match record for a non-libero with 24 digs in a 3-0 sweep of the University of Sioux Falls on Oct. 3 and averaged a school-record 4.12 digs per game during her Morningside career.
Emily Christen, a 6-0 senior middle blocker from Anselmo, Neb., received the Best Offensive Player Award. Christen averaged 2.78 kills per game and led the Mustangs with a .334 hitting percentage, 60 solo blocks, and an average of 1.01 blocks per game. Her 60 solo blocks finished one shy of the Mustangs’ single-season record.
Amanda Nelson, a 5-5 senior defensive specialist from Wakefield, Neb., received the Best Defensive Player Award. Nelson led the Mustangs with 611 digs for an average of 4.24 per game. She set a Morningside three-game match record with 30 digs in the Mustangs’ 3-0 win against Sioux Falls on Oct. 3.
Morningside’s other varsity award winners were:
Most Improved – Nelson and Erin Downing, a 5-11 junior outside hitter from Ottumwa, Iowa.
Top Newcomer – Jessica Tjaden, a 5-8 senior setter from Julesburg, Colo.
Hustle – Lindsay Hansen, a 5-9 senior defensive specialist from Elkhorn, Neb.
Top Freshman – Karly Schneider, a 5-10 freshman outside hitter from Kennard, Neb.
Morningside’s junior varsity award winners were:
Most Improved – Schneider.
Top Newcomer – Anastasia Ott, a 5-9 freshman middle blocker from Trumbull, Neb.
Hustle – Leah Nielsen, a 5-9 sophomore defensive specialist from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.
Best Defensive Player – Nielsen.
Best Offensive Player – Ott.
Most Valuable Player – Monica Iverson, a 5-10 sophomore setter from Sioux City.
Morningside posted a 32-9 record during the 2009 volleyball season en route to a second straight appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championships. The Mustangs’ 32 victories marked their third straight season with over 30 victories. Morningside has a 102-19 record over the last three years for a .843 winning percentage.
Morningside posted a 32-9 record during the 2009 volleyball season en route to a second straight appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championships. The Mustangs, who were ranked 24th nationally in the final NAIA regular season poll, finished second in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) standings with a 13-3 league mark. The Mustangs’ 32 victories marked their third straight season with over 30 victories. Morningside has a 102-19 record over the last three years for a .843 winning percentage.
Morningside broke a school record for solo blocks in a four-game match when it had 16 in a 3-1 victory against College of the Ozarks on Sept. 12 to break its former record of 11 blocks in matches against St. Cloud State University in 1991 and the University of Northern Colorado in 1996.
The Mustangs had 93 digs in a 3-0 sweep of the University of Sioux Falls on Oct. 3 to tie a school three-game match record previously set against Peru State College in 2006.
Morningside had 11 solo blocks in a 3-2 win against Black Hills State University on Sept. 11 to tie its five-game match record previously set against Briar Cliff University in 2007.
 Jamie Vander Kooi, a 5-9 senior outside hitter from Hinton, Iowa, had 24 digs in the Mustangs’ 3-0 win against the University of Sioux Falls on Oct. 3 to set a new Morningside three-game match record for a non-libero. She broke the former record of 23 digs by Stephanie Baddeley against the University of Nebraska-Kearney in 1996 and by Kate Boeve against Midland Lutheran College in 2005.
Vander Kooi averaged 4.12 digs per game over her two-year career to shatter the Mustangs’ former career mark of 3.38 digs per game by Lindsie Honsbruch from 2001-04.
Vander Kooi had 527 digs for an average of 3.88 per game this season. Her 527 digs was the third highest total in Morningside history by a non-libero and her average of 3.88 per game ranked fourth. Vander Kooi slammed a team-high 484 kills to lead the Mustangs with an average of 3.56 kills per game. Her 484 kills was the seventh highest single-season total in Morningside history. She had a team-high 26 double figure kill performances and 19 kill/dig double-doubles.
She finished her career with 1,137 digs for the 10th highest total in Morningside history. Vander Kooi averaged 3.33 kills per game during her career for the fourth highest average in school history and ranks seventh in the Morningside record book with a .278 career hitting percentage.
 Amanda Nelson, a 5-5 senior libero from Wakefield, Neb., had a school-record 30 digs in the Mustangs’ 3-0 sweep of the University of Sioux Falls on Oct. 3 to break the former Morningside three-game match record of 27 digs by Jericho Johnson against Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2007.
Nelson led the Mustangs with 611 digs for an average of 4.24 per game. Her 611 digs was the third highest single-season total in Morningside history.
Jessica Tjaden, a 5-8 senior setter from Julesburg, Colo., dealt 1,569 assists for the third highest single-season and seventh highest career totals in school history. She averaged 10.97 assists per game to rank seventh nationally in the NAIA.
Tjaden also topped the Mustangs with 63 ace serves for the fifth highest single-season total in Morningside history. Her average of 0.44 ace serves per game was the 10th best average in Morningside history.
Tjaden had 464 digs in 2009 for the seventh highest single-season total in Morningside history by a non-libero.
 Emily Christen, a 6-0 senior middle blocker from Anselmo, Neb., had 60 solo blocks to finish one shy of Morningside’s single-season record. Christen also led the Mustangs with an average of 1.01 blocks per game and a .334 hitting percentage for the 10th best single-season marks in Morningside history.
Christen finished her career with 112 solo blocks for the fourth highest total in Morningside history. She ranks third in Morningside history with a .328 career hitting percentage and eighth with a career average of 0.87 blocks per game.
Liz Sutherland, a 6-2 sophomore middle blocker from Sioux City, led the Mustangs with 90 block assists and had 44 solo blocks for the ninth highest single-season solo block total in Morningside history.
Addi Radke, a 6-1 senior outside hitter from Corvallis, Ore., averaged 3.17 kills per game during her two-year career for the eighth highest average in Morningside history.
 Jessica Tjaden, a 5-8 senior setter from Julesburg, Colo., has been named to the 2009 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball All-America Third-Team and was also named to the all-tournament team at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships.
Tjaden ranked among the NAIA national leaders in assists throughout the season and finished the campaign with 1,569 assists for an average of 10.97 per game. Tjaden ranked seventh in the nation with her average of 10.97 assists per game. She also led the Mustangs with 63 ace serves for an average of 0.44 per game and ranked third on the team with an average of 3.24 digs per game.
Tjaden’s 1,569 assists is the third highest single-season total in Morningside history and puts her seventh on the college’s all-time career assist list. Her 63 ace serves is the fifth highest single-season total in Morningside history.
In addition to Tjaden, the Mustangs’ Jamie Vander Kooi, a 5-9 senior outside hitter from Hinton, Iowa, was named to the All-America honorable mention list. Vander Kooi led the Mustangs’ attack with 484 kills for an average of 3.56 per game to compliment a norm of 3.88 digs per game. She had 24 digs in a 3-0 sweep of the University of Sioux Falls on Oct. 3 to set a school record for a three-game match by a non-libero. Vander Kooi had 19 kill/dig double-doubles and ranked second on the team with 34 ace serves.
Vander Kooi had 527 digs this season for the third highest single-season total in Morningside history and her average of 3.88 digs per game is the fourth best mark in the Mustang record book. Her 484 kills is the seventh highest total in Morningside history. Vander Kooi, who joined the Mustangs last year as a transfer from the University of South Dakota, amassed 919 kills and 1,137 digs during her two-year Morningside career. Her 1,137 digs is the 10th highest career total in Morningside history.
Morningside posted a 32-9 record during the 2009 season and qualified for the NAIA Volleyball National Championships for the second year in a row.
Click here for the complete 2009 Tachikara-NAIA All-America Team.
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Emily Christen |
Jessica Tjaden |
Jamie Vander Kooi |
Emily Christen, Jessica Tjaden, and Jamie Vander Kooi have been named to the 2009 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NAIA All-West Central Region Team.
Christen, a 6-0 senior middle blocker from Anselmo, Neb., averaged 2.78 kills and a team-high 1.01 blocks per game this season. She also led the Mustangs with a .334 hitting percentage and ranked third on the team with 26 ace serves.
Tjaden, a 5-8 junior setter from Julesburg, Colo., ranked among the NAIA national leaders this season with 1,569 assists for an average of 10.97 assists per game. She also led the Mustangs with 63 ace serves and averaged 3.24 digs per game.
Vander Kooi, a 5-9 senior outside hitter from Hinton, Iowa, led the Mustangs’ attack with 484 kills for an average of 3.56 per game to go along with a norm of 3.88 digs per contest. Vander Kooi had 19 kill/dig double-doubles during the season and ranked second on the team with 34 ace serves.
Their exploits helped lead Morningside to a 32-9 record this season and a second consecutive appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championships.
Click here for the complete AVCA All-Region Team.
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Emily Christen |
Kayla Stehlik |
Emily Christen, a 6-0 senior middle blocker from Anselmo, Neb.; and Kayla Stehlik, a 5-10 junior middle blocker from Dorchester, Neb., have been named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes in the sport of volleyball.
Christen has a 3.62 cumulative grade point average (GPA) and is majoring in mathematics teaching.
Stehlik has a 3.54 cumulative GPA and is majoring in business administration.
Christen was one of the top performers for a Morningside team that qualified for this year’s NAIA Volleyball National Championships. She led the Mustangs with an average of 1.01 blocks per game and was one of their top hitters with an average of 2.78 kills per game. Christen was also a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete in women’s basketball last year.
Student-athletes must be of at least junior academic status and have a minimum GPA of 3.50 in order to be eligible for Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Click here for the complete list of 2009 Daktronics-NAIA Volleyball Scholar-Athletes
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Emily Christen |
Kaeli Austin |
Morningside wrapped up pool play competition at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships with a 25-15, 25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 15-12 victory against 14th ranked Bellevue University on Thursday in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.
The 24th ranked Mustangs, who went 1-2 in pool play, closed the books on a 32-9 season after they scored their second five-set triumph against the Bruins this season. Morningside rallied from a 2-1 deficit when it defeated the Bruins in a match at Bellevue during the regular season.
Mustang senior Emily Christen slammed a match-high 15 kills to lead the Mustangs’ attack and teammates Jamie Vander Kooi and Liz Sutherland joined her in double figures with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Kaeli Austin and Erin Downing each added eight kills. Austin saved some of her most important kills for the end of the match when her hitting accounted for three of the Mustangs’ final five points in the deciding fifth set.
Amanda Nelson led the Mustangs’ defensive court coverage with 26 digs. Vander Kooi added 19 digs to her 14 kills for her 19th double-double of the season. Mustang setter Jessica Tjaden added 15 digs and a match-high 54 assists. Lindsay Hansen also played a pivotal role in the Mustangs’ defensive effort with 16 digs.
The first set was tied 11-11 before the Mustangs outscored the Bruins 14-4 down the stretch to win going away. Christen accounted for five straight Morningside points during one stretch with four kills and a block. Leading 20-14, the Mustangs stretched their advantage to 24-14 when Austin stung the Bruins with back-to-back ace serves that were followed by two straight kills by Vander Kooi.
The Mustangs went up 2-0 after Bellevue blew a 15-9 lead in the second set. The Mustangs stormed back to take the lead, 20-19, on a kill by Downing, followed by consecutive attack errors by Bellevue that stretched the lead to 22-19.
Morningside let a lead of its own get away in the third set. Kills by Downing, Tjaden, Vander Kooi, and Sutherland sparked the Mustangs to an early 4-2 advantage. The Mustangs’ lead grew to 8-4 with the help of three Bruin attack errors. Kills by Downing and Christian and an Amanda Nelson service ace increased the lead to 11-5.
Bellevue tied the score at 20-20 on a kill by Lace Puffer and took a 22-20 lead after back-to-back Morningside attack errors. The Bruins also scored the winning point on a Morningside attack error to win 25-21.
The Bruins attack went south in the early stages of the fourth set when the Mustangs scored five of their first nine points on Bellevue attack errors to go up 9-4. Bellevue came back to take a 24-22 lead on a kill by Rachel Muller. The Mustangs came right back to tie the set at 24-24 on a kill by Tjaden before kills by Maureen Wardian and Kali Schacker wrapped up a 26-24 Bruin victory.
Morningside struck first in the deciding fifth set and took an early 2-0 advantage on a kill by Christen and a Bruin attack error. The Mustangs still led by two, 8-6, when the teams traded sides of the court. The Mustangs stretched their lead to 10-6 on a Bellevue attack error and a Downing kill. The Bruins closed within 10-9 before Austin stopped their momentum with back-to-back kills to make it 12-9. Another Austin kill made it 14-12 before the Mustangs scored the match winner on a block by Christen.
Box Score
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Jessica Tjaden |
Morningside dropped three close contests in a 3-0 loss against ninth-ranked University of Texas-Brownsville in Wednesday’s pool play action at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.
The Mustangs lost by scores of 25-20, 26-24, and 25-20. Morningside will take a 31-9 record into Thursday’s pool play finale against 14th ranked Bellevue University. Morningside, ranked 24th in the final NAIA regular season poll, came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Bellevue 3-2 when the teams met during the regular season in a match played at Bellevue, Neb.
Jamie Vander Kooi led the Mustangs’ attack with 12 kills in the loss against Texas-Brownsville for her 25th double figure kill performance of the season. Erin Downing was next with eight kills.
Jessica Tjaden led the Mustangs with 25 assists, 11 digs, and two ace serves. Vander Kooi and Amanda Nelson each added nine digs.
Texas-Brownsville improved its record to 33-1.
Box Score
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Emily Christen |
Erin Downing |
Morningside opened pool play competition at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships with a 25-23, 15-25, 25-21, 25-22 setback against fourth-ranked Concordia University of California on Tuesday in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.
The Mustangs, ranked 24th in the final NAIA regular season poll, routed Concordia 25-15 in the second game in the only game that was decided by more than four points.
Emily Christen slammed 11 kills to pace a balanced Morningside attack. Erin Downing was right behind with 10 kills, while Jamie Vander Kooi and Liz Sutherland each had nine terminations. Downing, who finished one shy of a season’s high with her 10 kills, had only one attack error in 22 attempts to lead the Mustangs with a .409 hitting percentage.
Christen also had two solo blocks to raise her season’s total to 58 and move within three of Amber Jarzynka’s school-record total of 61 solo blocks set last year.
Amanda Nelson led the Mustangs’ court coverage with 13 digs, while Vander Kooi also finished in double figures with 10 digs.
The Mustangs’ other leaders were Jessica Tjaden with 37 assists and Lindsay Hansen with three ace serves.
Morningside trailed 14-13 in the first game before kills by Stephanie Darnall and Amy Van Buren and ace serves by Amber Ridens and Alexandra Barsotti sparked an Eagle rally that opened up a 20-14 lead. The Mustangs battled back within 24-23 before Ridens finished things off with one of her match-high 15 kills.
The Mustangs staked themselves to an early 9-4 lead in the second game and later stretched the difference to seven points, 20-13, during a four-point service run by Tjaden that featured an ace serve, a pair of kills by Downing, and a kill by Vander Kooi. Morningside scored the game-winning point on an ace serve by Leah Nielsen.
Morningside held an 18-14 lead in the decisive fourth game before Brooke Marino hammered kills for four of the Eagles’ final five points. Marino finished with 14 kills and no attack errors in 21 attempts for a .667 hitting percentage.
The Mustangs will take a 31-8 record into an 8 p.m. match against No. 9 University of Texas-Brownsville on Wednesday.
Box Score
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Emily Christen |
Jessica Tjaden |
Jamie Vander Kooi |
Morningside College’s Emily Christen, Jessica Tjaden, and Jamie Vander Kooi, have been named to the 2009 All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Volleyball First-Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.
Christen, a 6-0 senior middle blocker from Anselmo, Neb., is the Mustangs’ top defensive presence at the net with 56 solo blocks and 78 block assists for an average of 1.02 blocks per game. Her 56 solo blocks is the second highest single-season total in Morningside history. Christen also leads the Mustangs with a .339 hitting percentage. She ranks second on the team with 369 kills for an average of 2.80 per game and is third on the team with 26 ace serves.
Tjaden, a 5-8 senior setter from Julesburg, Colo., has dealt 1,453 assists for an average of 11.09 per game and has ranked among the NAIA national leaders throughout the season. She leads the Mustangs with 59 ace serves for an average of 0.45 per game and has 430 digs for an average of 3.28 per contest. Tjaden’s 59 ace serves is the seventh highest single-season total in Morningside history and her 1,453 assists is the 10th highest total in the Mustangs’ annals.
Vander Kooi, a 5-9 senior outside hitter from Hinton, Iowa, is the big hitter in the Mustangs’ attack with a team-high 449 kills for an average of 3.62 per game. She ranks second on the team with 489 digs for an average of 3.94 per game and with 34 ace serves. Her 489 digs is the third highest single-season total in Morningside history by a non-libero. Vander Kooi had 24 digs in the Mustangs’ 3-0 sweep of the University of Sioux Falls on Oct. 3 to set a Morningside three-game match record by a non-libero. She leads the Mustangs with 24 double figure kill performances and with 18 kill/dig double-doubles.
In addition to their three first-team selections, the Mustangs’ Liz Sutherland, a 6-2 sophomore middle blocker from Sioux City, was named to the All-GPAC Second-Team. Sutherland has 222 kills for an average of 1.79 per game and ranks second on the team in blocks with 44 solos and 81 assists for an average of 1.01 blocks per game. Her 44 solo blocks is the seventh highest single-season total in Morningside history.
The Mustangs’ Amanda Nelson, a 5-5 senior defensive specialist from Wakefield, Neb., was named to the All-GPAC honorable mention list. Nelson leads the Mustangs with 563 digs for an average of 4.27 per game as the team’s libero. She set a Morningside three-game match record when she came up with 30 digs in the Mustangs’ 3-0 sweep of Sioux Falls on Oct. 3. Nelson ranks fourth on the team with 22 ace serves.
Morningside has a 31-7 record and will compete in the NAIA Volleyball National Championships on Dec. 1-5 in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena. The Mustangs finished second in the GPAC regular season standings with a 13-3 league record.
Click here for the complete 2009 All-GPAC Volleyball Team.
 Jamie Vander Kooi, a 5-9 senior outside hitter from Hinton, Iowa, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Volleyball Player of the Week for her performance in the Mustangs 3-0 sweep of Dana College in last Saturday’s GPAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Vander Kooi slammed 13 kills and had only one attack error in 22 attempts for a .545 hitting percentage. She had more kills than the entire Dana team, which had just 11 kills in the 25-10, 25-5, 25-11 Morningside victory. Vander Kooi also had five digs, one solo block, and one block assist in the contest.
Vander Kooi is averaging a team-high 3.67 kills per game this season and ranks second on the Mustangs with an average of 3.97 digs per game. She has completed 94.8 percent of her serve attempts and ranks second on the team with 33 ace serves.
 Amanda Nelson, a 5-5 senior defensive specialist from Wakefield, Neb., has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Libero of the Week for Oct. 5-11.
Nelson averaged 5.67 digs per game in Morningside victories against Dana College and Briar Cliff University. She was also perfect on serve reception and service attempts in the two matches.
She had 25 digs to help lead Morningside to a 3-0 sweep of Briar Cliff last Saturday for the Mustangs’ second highest dig total of the season in a three-game match.
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Jamie Vander Kooi |
Jessica Tjaden |
Jamie Vander Kooi, a 5-9 senior outside hitter from Hinton, Iowa, has been named the NAIA National Volleyball Player of the Week and the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Volleyball Player of the Week for Sept. 28 to Oct. 4.
In addition to Vander Kooi, the Mustangs’ Jessica Tjaden, a 5-8 junior setter from Julesburg, Colo., is this week’s GPAC Setter of the Week.
Vander Kooi averaged 4.50 kills and 4.67 digs per game in the Mustangs’ victories against 15th-ranked Bellevue University, Dakota Wesleyan University, and the University of Sioux Falls as the 14th-ranked Mustangs improved their record to 24-2. She slammed 26 kills for the Mustangs’ top individual total of the season to lead Morningside to a 3-2 win at Bellevue and had a season’s high 24 digs to set a Morningside three-game match record by a non-libero in a 3-0 win against Sioux Falls.
Vander Kooi is averaging a team-high 3.82 kills and 4.22 digs per game and leads the Mustangs with 17 double figure kill performances and 14 kill/dig double-doubles.
Tjaden averaged 12.08 assists and 3.42 digs per game in the Mustangs’ three victories. She contributed 58 assists and 16 digs in the Mustangs’ win at Bellevue.
Tjaden received the GPAC Setter of the Week honor for the third time this season.
 Jessica Tjaden, a 5-8 junior setter from Julesburg, Colo., is the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Setter of the Week for the second week in a row.
Tjaden averaged 11.45 assists per game to help lead the Mustangs to four victories in their five matches last week. She also had 60 digs for an average of 3.00 per game.
She had season’s highs of 61 assists and 22 digs to go along with three ace serves when the Mustangs defeated Black Hills State University 3-2 at last weekend’s Hastings College Tournament as the Mustangs avenged a loss against the Yellow Jackets at the 2008 NAIA National Tournament.
Jessica Tjaden, a 5-8 junior setter from Julesburg, Colo., has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Volleyball Setter of the Week after she helped lead the Mustangs to four victories in as many matches at last weekend’s College of Saint Mary Classic in Omaha, Neb.
Tjaden dealt 156 assists for an average of 13.0 per game in the Mustangs’ 3-0 wins against Haskell Indian Nations University, College of Saint Mary, Hannibal-LaGrange College, and Tabor College. She had a season’s high 44 assists in the win against College of Saint Mary.
Her statistics also included 10 ace serves and 42 digs for an average of 3.50 digs per contest. Tjaden had a season’s high 13 digs in the win against College of Saint Mary and had a season’s high seven ace serves against Haskell Indian Nations.
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