SIOUX CITY, IA – Valley City State won a four set match on the road at Morningside Thursday night to kick off five matches in three days. The Vikings won 18-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-12.

The Vikings are 1-1 overall while the Mustangs are 0-1.

Morningside used a 5-0 run midway through the first set to take control of the opening set. There were nine ties in the first 24 points. Earl on, neither team had more than a two-point lead. Morningside's came when Emma Haren's kill made it 6-4 Mustangs. The Vikings went on a 7-3 run to take their two-point lead. A kill by Danielle Hagler gave Valley City State a 11-9 lead. A kill by Haren started a 5-0 run for Morningside to give the Mustangs a four-point lead, the largest lead of the match. A service ace for Audrey Waido made it 16-12 Morningside. A kill by Hagler got the Vikings to within two at 16-14. But the Mustangs would use a 5-1 run to end the set. A service ace by Payten Lode capped off the run and gave the Mustangs a 25-18 win in the first set.

It was all Valley City in the second set as the Vikings got off to a five-point lead early start. A service ace by Anne Pulju made it 5-0 Vikings. Morningside got to within four on a kill by Victoria Bouska to make it 6-2. That was as close as the Mustangs would get in the set. Valley City would go on a 14-4 run to take a 14-point lead. A kill by Emma Lucas made it 20-6 Valley City, which was the biggest lead of the set for the Vikings. The Mustangs would try and make it close with a 10-3 run. An attack error by Rosie Anderson made it 23-16 Valley City. But Anderson redeemed herself with a kill to make it 24-16. An attack error by Morningside's Haren made the final 25-16 Valley City.

The third set was close early on. A block by Hagler and Macy Fridgen made it 4-1 Vikings. But Morningside came back with 5-1 run to take the lead. A service ace by Haren made it 6-5 Morningside. The Vikings went on a 10-4 run to take a five-point lead. A kill by Fridgen made it 15-10 Vikings. But the Mustangs came right back with a 5-0 run to tie the set. Miyah Whitehead's kill made it 15-15. The set would be tied at 17 and 18 before the Vikings too control of the set with a 7-3 run. A ball handling error by Waido started the run and gave Valley City State a 19-18 lead. An attack error by Morningside's Cloey Carlson gave the Vikings the set at 25-21.

The fourth set was all Valley City State. After a kill the Mustang's Payten Lode tied the set at 1-1. The Vikings would score the seven points to take a seven-point lead. Two kills each by Fridgen and Hagler gave the Vikings an 8-1 lead. The closets Morningside would get was six points at 8-2. The biggest lead of the set and the match came at the end of a of an 11-3 Viking run. A kill by Ellie Luas started the run and made it 14-6 Vikings. It ended on an attack error by the Mustang's Adelyn Harris which made the score 24-9. After a mini three-point run by Morningside, Rosie Anderson buried here seventh kill of the night to give the Vikings a 25-12 set win and the match 3-1.

Six Vikings had at least five kills led by Macy Fridgen's 13. Danielle Hagler had nine with a .450 hitting percentage. Emma Lucas had eight kills and Anderson added her seven. Morgan Freije had six kills and a .500 hitting percentage while Ellie Lucas added six kills. As a team, Valley City State had a .268 hitting percentage. Gracie Schumacher had 22 assists and Madden Bogenreif had 19 to go along with her ten digs for the double-double. JayCee Richter had 28 digs to lead the defense. Anna Pulju had eleven and had all four of the Vikings' service aces. Hagler and Freije each had three blocks (1 solo and 2 assisted). As a team the Vikings had 78 digs and ten blocks.

UP NEXT: Valley City State will face #13 Oklahoma Wesleyan and #7 Northwestern Friday at the Siouxland Invitational in Sioux City, IA. The Oklahoma Wesleyan match is at 11:30 am with the Northwestern match at 7:00 pm.