Wildcats Stay Hot, Defeat Mustangs at Home for Fifth Straight Win

BALDWIN CITY - Closing out a three-match homestand, Baker volleyball came out on top of an intense conference battle against Mount Mercy, knocking off the Mustangs, 3-1 on Saturday afternoon in the Collins Center.

The victory marked the Wildcats' fifth straight and 10th overall for the year, with four of the wins coming against Heart of America teams for a 4-2 start to the conference season.

The two teams traded punches between the first two sets, starting off with a narrow 25-23 win for BU in the first. The Mustangs tied it up in the second, 25-22, before the Wildcats reeled off back-to-back wins, punctuated by a 26-24 victory in the fourth to claim the match.

BU was led by its defensive play at the net, racking up a season-high 23 blocks and forcing MMU to commit 24 attacking errors. The Wildcats also had another great night from the service line, recording 10 aces for their third double-digit tally of the season.

Kohanihokuao Misipeka finished with 16 kills and 17 digs, while Kylie Murray (13) and Meredith Brown (10) each reached double-figure kills as well. After collecting a season-best four aces on Friday, Brown tallied three more aces against the Mustangs.

Setters Taryn Dial (26) and Miranda Kuntz (15) combined for 41 assists and Reese Kehl picked up 26 digs to push her over 300 for the season (317).

After winning in straight sets on Friday, Baker got off to a strong start on Saturday, staking out the first three points and building a quick four-point lead. From there, neither side would lead by more than two points until the Mustangs won three straight to make it 19-16 in their favor.

The Wildcats worked their way back and used a three-point rally of their own to take the lead late. Brown and Murray teamed up for a block to push BU in front and then Murray closed out the set with her fourth kill of the opening frame.

The back-and-forth carried over into set two with Mount Mercy eventually creating a five-point cushion, only to see BU completely erase that with a 5-0 run sparked by back-to-back kills from Misipeka to tie the set at 12-12.

A timeout helped the Mustangs regain control and keep a three-point gap going until they started to pull away late. BU fought back to get within two points a couple of times, but MMU was able to tie the match with a three-point victory in the second.

The third set featured a seesaw beginning with Baker winning the first three points, followed by a 5-0 run from the Mustangs and countered with a five-point rally from BU. Kills from Abby Elffner and Kaitlyn Stout made it 13-8 in favor of the 'Cats and a combo block from Brown and Misipeka gave them a seven-point lead later on in the set.

Misipeka and Brie Reedy, who led the team with seven blocks in the game, closed out the second with a stuff at the net to push BU in front in the match, 2-1.

The Mustangs opened up with a 6-2 advantage in the fourth set before a kill by Elffner tied things at 7-7. MMU would once again build up a slight edge, only to see it slip away with an ace from Brown sending the Wildcats back in front at 16-15.

Misipeka tore through four straight kills down the stretch, while Reedy marked the final two points with a kill and a block alongside Elffner to complete an emphatic, 3-1 victory for BU.

With four straight wins over Heart teams, the Wildcats sit in the top five of the conference standings and hold victories over the two teams directly behind them in Benedictine (4-2) and Mount Mercy (5-3).

Baker will take the five-game winning streak out on the road and face (RV) Park on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in Parkville, Mo.

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