History! Mustangs Start Season 2-0 For First Time

GARY, Ind. — Friday (08/24) marked plenty of firsts for the volleyball program at Marygrove College. New head coach Jamie Baker coached her first intercollegiate contest, and later won her first intercollegiate contest. In the end, the Mustangs started the season 2-0 for the first time in program history.

Friday’s tri-match featured a pair of matches against familiar foes, Robert Morris-Peoria and Indiana University-Northwest. The Mustangs entered the night with a 3-0 lifetime record against Peoria and a 6-1 mark against IU-Northwest.

In the first match, the Mustangs would get on top with a first set win against Peoria, 25-21. The narrow margin indicated that the Mustangs were not facing the same Peoria team from a year ago. In fact, Peoria would come back to steal set number two after a fierce battle, 26-28. The Mustangs, led by a strong core of seniors, would battle back to take a 3-1 decision to earn Coach Baker’s first intercollegiate victory. The win also marked the first time the Mustangs started 1-0 to begin a season in their brief program history.

The nightcap would pit the Mustangs against the host Redhawks of IU-Northwest. The Mustangs used their momentum from the first match to cruise to a three-set sweep of the Redhawks, 25-18, 25-21 and 25-11.

The Mustangs featured a balanced effort from their cast of four seniors. Newcomers Dria Pappas (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Lakeview) and Kat Hall (Livonia, Mich./Henry Ford CC) contributed nicely in the pair of victories. Kiara Cobbs (Detroit, Mich./King) had a solid night minding the net by turning away plenty of attacks by the opposition and turning in a few kills of her own.

“I am very pleased with the team’s effort tonight. We got into trouble a couple time but managed to pull out on top for two victories due to our veteran leadership. We have a mature group of young ladies that have a drive to succeed this season, and I am excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for us,” said Baker.

Coach Baker and the Mustangs (2-0) will scrimmage Schoolcraft College next week before heading to the Penn State Invitational for the weekend. We will keep you updated on all of next weekend’s action at marygrovemustangs.com and our facebook and twitter feeds.

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