CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – Grand View University's women's volleyball team opened Heart of America Conference play with a trip to Cedar Rapids to take on the Mustangs of Mount Mercy University. The Vikings, who were coming off a matchless weekend, struggled to shake the rust off, resulting in a 3-1 loss to the Mustangs. Set scores were 25-23, 25-18, 25-23, and 25-21.

After leading most of the opening set, the Vikings would struggle to close things out towards the end. A run by the Mustangs began to spark their momentum halfway through, which caused them to gap from Grand View before closing out the opening set 25-23 following a Viking error.

The Vikings again grabbed an early momentum swing with a quick lead, but the Mustangs followed closely behind before tying up at ten all. A kill from Elly Polich ended a six-point Mustang rally, resulting in the Vikings trailing 17-12. Although relentless through a late rally, Grand View couldn't damage control the mindset surge by the Mustangs and came up short in the second set, 25-18.

In the third set, Grand View showed a lot of energy, avoiding a sweep. Ellie Dougherty's kill gave GVU an 18-13 lead, but the Mustangs fought back to trail by just one point. Eventually, a kill by Polich sealed the third set with a score of 25-23.

In the fourth set, Grand View seemed to be in the driver's seat throughout much of the set, but a pestering Mount Mercy would linger until the final few serves and would come from behind to secure the final set 25-21 and the match 3-1.

GAME NOTES 

• Ellie Dougherty led the Vikings in kills with 17 at .191 a clip. This marks her 5th match with double-digit kills. 

UP NEXT
The Vikings will have the remainder of the week off and resume play next Tuesday as they open things up at home. On the 17th, they will see Peru State for a 7:00 p.m. match in the Charles S. Johnson Wellness Center.