Volleyball

Morningside will host several volleyball camps during the month of June.

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Morningside College head volleyball coach Sara Horn has announced the names of two transfer additions that joined the team at the semester break.

The transfers are Chelsey Harvey, a 5-10 outside hitter from Goldfield, Iowa, and Elizabeth Honke, a 5-8 defensive specialist from Atlantic, Iowa.

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Morningside posted a 26-9 record, won the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season and post-season tournament championships, and made its third NAIA National Tournament appearance in the last four years during the 2011 volleyball season. The Mustangs won the GPAC regular season title with a 13-3 league mark and defeated Doane College 3-1 in the championship match of the GPAC’s post-season tournament. Morningside has a 145-44 record over the last five seasons for a .767 winning percentage.

Morningside College is ranked 23rd in the nation in the Post-Season NAIA Volleyball Poll released Dec. 6.

Morningside, the 2011 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season and post-season tournament champion, finished the campaign with a 26-9 record and qualified for the NAIA National Championship tournament for the third time in the last four years.

Darcy Christensen, a 5-8 senior defensive specialist from Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Monica Iverson, a 5-10 senior setter from Sioux City, were each named to the honorable mention list of the 2011 Tachikara-NAIA All-America Volleyball Team.

Their exploits helped lead Morningside to a 26-9 record and the college’s third appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship tournament in the last four years. The Mustangs were the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season and post-season tournament champions.

Kaeli Austin, Leah Nielsen, and Anastasia Ott have been named 2011 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes in the sport of volleyball.

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.

Morningside lost 25-20, 25-19, 25-27, 25-23 against 14th-ranked Vanguard University in Thursday’s action at the 2011 NAIA Volleyball National Championship tournament to finish pool play with a 0-3 record.

The Mustangs, who made their third national tournament appearance in the last four seasons, finished the campaign with a record of 26-9. The Mustangs won both the GPAC regular season and post-season tournament championships in their first season under head coach Sara Horn.

Briana Schaeuble, Maggie Vondrak, and Riley Callan each had 10 kills to lead the Mustangs’ attack in their finale, while Kaeli Austin and Anastasia Ott each added seven kills.

Morningside’s Darcy Christensen led all performers with 19 digs. Austin and Monica Iverson joined her in double figures with 13 and 11 digs, respectively.

Iverson dealt 41 assists and Schaeuble was the Mustangs’ top defender at the net with eight block assists.

Morningside College placed four players on the 2011 All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Volleyball First-Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

The Mustangs’ first-team all-conference selections are Darcy Christensen, a 5-8 senior libero from Council Bluffs, Iowa; Monica Iverson, a 5-10 senior setter from Sioux City; Briana Schaeuble, a 6-2 junior middle blocker from Kingsley, Iowa; and Maggie Vondrak, a 6-0 sophomore outside hitter from Sioux City.

In addition to their four first-team picks, Morningside’s Sara Horn was named the 2011 Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Volleyball Coach of the Year. Horn, who inherited a team that was picked for an eighth place finish in the GPAC Coaches’ Pre-Season Poll, guided the Mustangs to a 26-6 record, the GPAC regular season and post-season tournament championships, and a NAIA National Tournament berth in her first season with the team.

Morningside added the GPAC Volleyball Post-Season Tournament championship to the GPAC title it won during the regular season when the Mustangs defeated Doane College 25-16, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21 in Saturday’s title match in the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center.

The Mustangs will take a 26-6 record and a seven-match winning streak into the NAIA National Championship Tournament to be held Nov. 29-Dec. 3 in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.

Maggie Vondrak and Briana Schaeuble each hammered 14 kills and Anastasia Ott joined them in double figures with 11 terminations to lead the Mustangs to their third victory over Doane this season. Kaeli Austin just missed double figures with nine kills and Riley Callan had eight.

Maggie Vondrak, a 6-0 sophomore outside hitter from Sioux City, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Volleyball Player of the Week after she led the Mustangs to three victories last week to secure the 2011 GPAC regular season championship.

Vondrak averaged 4.33 kills and 1.46 digs per game in the three victories and led the Mustangs in kills in all three triumphs. She had her first double-double of the season with 17 kills and 10 digs when Morningside defeated Midland University 3-2 last Saturday to wrap up the league title. Earlier in the week she had 15 kills in 3-1 wins against Dordt College and Briar Cliff University.

Vondrak has led the Mustangs in kills in each of their last four matches and has five consecutive double figure kill performances to become the team’s season’s leader with 276 kills for an average of 2.56 per game.

Morningside wrapped up the 2011 GPAC volleyball regular season championship with a 20-25, 28-26, 25-18, 26-28, 15-13 victory over Midland University on Saturday afternoon in the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center.

The Mustangs finished their GPAC slate with a 13-3 record in their first campaign under head coach Sara Horn for a one-game advantage over runner-up Doane College (12-4), while Midland finished third at 11-5.

Morningside, which climbed to 23-6 overall, claimed its second GPAC volleyball crown since entering the league. The Mustangs were also GPAC champions in 2007 and won GPAC Post-Season Tournament titles in 2007 and 2008.