Women's volleyball routs Calumet, survives Trinity Christian at Siena Heights Invite

ADRIAN, Mich. - Midway women's volleyball went a perfect 2-0 on the first day of the Siena Heights Labor Day Invitational Friday, securing two very different types of wins in the process.

The Eagles were dominant from the start in a 25-12, 25-19, 25-23 win over Calumet (Ind.), then strapped in for a marathon four-set win over Trinity Christian (Ill.), coming out on top 31-29, 25-27, 25-23, 27-25.

MIDWAY 3, CALUMET 0

The Eagles were outstanding at the net all match, particularly in the first and third sets, where they recorded hitting percentages of .474 and .524 respectively.

They seized control for good early in the first set behind a 6-0 run kick-started by Emily Slaughter, who went on a personal 4-0 run of her own with three straight kills, followed by a service ace.

For the match, Slaughter led the Eagles with 10 kills and five aces while finishing second on the team with seven digs, trailing only the 10 by Blair Riney.

Midway dominated every statistical category, holding a substantial advantage in kills (39-21), hitting percentage (3.33-0.36), assists (33-21) and digs (43-28). They also had just two reception errors to the Crimson Wave's 10. 

MIDWAY 3, TRINITY CHRISTIAN 1

There was a requisite degree of craziness for a match that didn't begin until after 9 p.m., with the first set proving particularly wild.

Down 23-18, the Eagles put together a 5-0 surge behind kills by Nyla Gaines and Slaughter, an Aubry Koester ace and two Troll errors. 

That gave way to a sequence in which the teams traded 11 consecutive points, with the Eagles fighting off set point six times in the process. Down 29-28, they pulled even again on a Koester kill, then finally put the set away on a kill by Miles and Trinity Christian attack error.

The Eagles would be on the wrong end of a comeback in set two, squandering and early 8-2 lead. Midway had set point up 24-23 and 25-24, only for the Trolls to score the final three points to even the match.

The clinching point continued to be elusive in set three, as the Eagles built a 24-18 lead, only for the Trolls to score five straight, aided by three-straight Midway attack errors. A collapse would be avoided, however, thanks to a clinching block by Marinna Liedle and Meghan Adams.

Things were, predictably, back-and-fourth in the fourth set as well, though Midway appeared to gain separation when they went on a 5-1 run to go up 23-19.

The Eagles then got to match point at 24-22 off a Trinity Christian error, but once again were met with a Troll rally, as the two teams eventually became locked at 25.

Luckily, Midway was able to rely on its three-time, all-conference hitter, as Koester blasted the last of her match-high 22 kills to make it 26-25. The match then finally came to a close off a Trinity Christian attack error, giving the Eagles a 3-1 win and a 3-1 record.

All told, there were 15 instances in which the serving team was unable to score at set point.

The extended match, naturally, allowed multiple Midway players to establish statistical career highs. Liedle and Miles both had the most assists of their careers at 28 and 19 respectively, while Riney set a career-best mark with 16 digs.

Slaughter (12) and Adams (10) also had double-digit kills with Slaughter adding three more aces for the Eagles, who have a quick return to action on day two of the tournament, facing Indiana Northwest at 11 a.m. and Siena Heights (Mich.) at 2 p.m.

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