Women's Volleyball Drops Road Match at Mount Mercy in Three

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Graceland University fell to Mount Mercy University in straight sets (11-25, 13-25, 15-25) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) women's volleyball match on Saturday afternoon. The loss brings the Yellowjackets to a 2-21 overall record, including a 1-13 mark in conference play.

The Yellowjackets were unable to find their rhythm against a strong Mount Mercy squad, struggling in key areas such as serving, passing, and attacking—hallmarks of their typical game plan. Graceland finished the match with a team hitting percentage of -.009, recording 20 kills against 21 attack errors on 112 total attempts.

Head Coach Stew McDole commented on the match, stating, "Today we got outplayed – at our own game. We are a serve/pass/attack team. They bested us in all three. Nobody knows until the whistle blows, but they executed better than we did across the board."

Mount Mercy jumped out to an early lead in the first set, capitalizing on errors by the Yellowjackets. Graceland recorded five attack errors in the set while managing only six kills on 40 attempts for a hitting percentage of .025. The Yellowjackets' serve receive was tested early and often, leading to two service aces for Mount Mercy. Jenna Brown led the attack for the Mustangs with four kills, helping her team secure the first set 25-11.

The second set saw more of the same struggles for Graceland as they continued to have difficulty in serve reception and hitting efficiency. Mount Mercy's strong serving, including two aces from Hailey Hested, put the Yellowjackets on their heels. Graceland's offense was stymied by the Mustangs' front row, which combined for four blocks in the set. Despite a few bright moments, including kills from Ella Thomas and Sierra Kauweloa, Graceland couldn't close the gap, dropping the set 25-13.

In the final set, Graceland attempted to rally but was unable to sustain momentum. Brenna Crabtree, who led the Yellowjackets with six kills, made her presence felt, but Mount Mercy's aggressive attack and stout defense were too much for the Yellowjackets to overcome. The Mustangs closed out the match 25-15, securing their 14th win of the season and improving their conference record to 10-3.

Despite the tough loss, the Yellowjackets showed resilience. Sierra Kauweloa and Ella Thomas added solid contributions with four and five kills, respectively, while Kylee Dixon chipped in with two blocks. However, the Yellowjackets' struggles from the service line and in the passing game—key areas of their typical success—proved costly. Graceland committed nine service errors and allowed Mount Mercy to dictate the pace of play with their serving and blocking.

Graceland finished the match with 39 digs, but Mount Mercy's offensive efficiency, hitting .231 as a team, made it difficult for the Yellowjackets to build any sustained pressure.

Graceland University will aim to bounce back when they return to Lamoni on Tuesday, October 22, to host Culver-Stockton College in another HAAC contest. The match is set to begin at 7:00 PM in the Morden Center, where the Yellowjackets will look to improve upon their serve-receive game and reduce unforced errors.

"We have a quick turnaround before facing Culver-Stockton on Tuesday," added Coach McDole. "We'll focus on cleaning up our serve-receive and getting back to playing our brand of volleyball."

Graceland University will look to regroup as they prepare for their next matchup and hope to regain their footing in the HAAC standings.

For more information on the Graceland women's volleyball team and all Yellowjacket athletics, visit GUjackets.com.