Morningside posted an 11-17 record in its first-ever season of varsity men’s volleyball competition.

Dalton Tucker

Raul Rivera Rojas

Morningside College posted an 11-17 record during the 2015 men’s volleyball campaign in its inaugural season of varsity competition.

Raul Rivera Rojas, a 5-10 sophomore outside hitter from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, was the top hitter in the Mustangs’ attack with a team-high 371 kills for an average of 3.71 kills per set. Rivera Rojas had a team-high 21 double figure kill performances, including a season’s high 25 terminations in a 3-1 Morningside triumph against Lindenwood University-Belleville on Jan. 23 for the Mustangs’ top individual total of the season.

Aside from leading the Mustangs in kills, Rivera Rojas also topped the team’s non-liberos with 153 digs for an average of 1.53 digs per set.

Dalton Tucker, a 5-10 sophomore libero from White Hall, Ill., led the Mustangs’ defensive court coverage with 353 digs for an average of 3.46 digs per set. Tucker produced a double figure dig total in 18 of the Mustangs’ 28 matches, including a season’s high 27 digs against Graceland University on March 3 for the Mustangs’ top individual total of the season.

Jordan Bailey

Oscar Alvarez Cancel

Jordan Bailey, a 6-1 sophomore setter from Huntington Beach, Calif., led the Mustangs in a pair of statistical categories. Bailey dealt a team-high 854 assists for an average of 8.63 assists per set and also topped the Mustangs with 28 ace serves. He dealt a season’s high 49 assists in the Mustangs’ Jan. 23 victory against Lindenwood-Belleville and had five ace serves in the Mustangs’ 3-2 triumph against Hannibal-LaGrange University on Feb. 23 to match the Mustangs’ top ace serve performance of the season.

Cody Wood

Oscar Alvarez Cancel, a 6-0 freshman middle blocker from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, also had five ace serves in a 3-1 victory against Hannibal-LaGrange on Feb. 21. Alvarez Cancel was the Mustangs’ top defensive player at the net with five solo blocks and 92 block assists for an average of 0.96 blocks per set.

Cody Wood, a 6-4 sophomore middle blocker from Cleburne, Texas, was the Mustangs’ most efficient hitter. Wood had 123 kills and only 40 errors in 268 attack attempts to lead the Mustangs with a .310 hitting percentage. Wood averaged 1.22 kills per set.