The Mustangs’ men’s volleyball team defeated Lindenwood-Belleville 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the Midwest Conference Tournament.

Cade DuVel

Cody Wood

Morningside’s men’s volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 Midwest Conference Tournament with a 25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 10-25, 15-13 victory against Lindenwood-Belleville in Friday’s quarterfinals in St. Louis, Mo.

The Mustangs improved their record to 10-22 and will face sixth-ranked Park in Saturday’s semifinals at 12:30 p.m.

The Mustangs played without standout outside hitter Raul Rivera Rojas, who turned an ankle in pre-match warmups. Rivera Rojas, who is expected to be sidelined for the duration of the tournament, had been named to the All-Midwest Conference First Team earlier in the day.

With their attack leader sidelined, Cody Wood stepped up to lead the Mustangs with a season’s high 11 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Braden Hall was next with eight kills, followed by Oscar Alvarez Cancel and Jimmy Aschenbrenner, each with six.

Aschenbrenner had eight block assists and Jacob Brand had six to help the Mustangs finish with 12 blocks as a team.

Cade DuVel led the Mustangs’ defensive court coverage with a season’s high 17 digs. He was joined in double figures by Alvarez Cancel with 10 digs and Hall just missed twin figures with nine.

Mustang setters Caden Toben and Elijah Magat dealt 18 and 16 assists, respectively.

Box Score