Wildcats Fall at Home to (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene, 3-1

BALDWIN CITY - After winning in five sets on Tuesday in the Collins Center, Baker came up short in its second home match of the week, dropping a four-set match against (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene here Friday night.

Following a double-digit win for MNU in set one (25-15), the Wildcats bounced back with a 25-22 win in set two and battled over the next two sets, only to have their efforts come up short as the Pioneers claimed the match in four sets on final scores of 25-18 and 25-22.

Four different players tallied exactly eight kills for BU with Meredith Brown, Kylie Murray, Kaitlyn Stout and Aby Widhalm all leading the attack. Taryn Dial finished with 20 assists, marking her second straight match with at least 20 assists after collecting 23 against Missouri Valley on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, MNU registered a .168 hitting percentage and totaled 11 aces to earn its sixth road win of the season.

The Pioneers opened things up with a 10-3 start in the first set and pushed it to a 10-point advantage after an ace made it 18-8. The Wildcats sparked a nice rally by winning six of the next seven points with Murray, Widhalm and Olivia Deichmann each striking up a kill. MNU closed it out with a 6-1 run of its own to take the opening set, 25-15.

Baker got off on the right foot in set two with a kill by Widhalm and an ace by Kierstyn Harmon getting things started. After the Pioneers went up by two midway through the set, Brown and Abby Elffner connected on back-to-back attacks to put Baker in front at 16-15. BU's best stretch came towards the end though as Stout hammered home a pair of kills before Murray clinched the set on her second kill of the frame.

In the third set, the two teams traded points through the early going with MNU eventually taking a three-point lead. Deichmann, Brown and Elffner each scored a point to keep BU within striking distance, but the Pioneers pushed their advantage out to eight points before retaking the lead with a 25-18 win in set three.

Once again, it was a Widhalm kill that kicked off another set for BU as the Wildcats came back to take control in the fourth set after MNU jumped out to an early lead. Back-to-back kills from Elffner made it a 12-8 lead for BU before the Pioneers responded to eventually tie things up at 16-all.

The back-and-forth continued from there and made for a dramatic ending as the Wildcats couldn't quite get over a one-point hump and the Pioneers sealed the match with a tight 25-22 win in the fourth.

Winning their first four matches at home this year, the Wildcats are now 6-3 inside the Collins Center with two of their losses coming against teams that were drawing votes in the NAIA Top-25 Poll with a setback to (RV) MNU tonight and one to No. 21 Central Methodist last week.

Baker will take a break from the Heart of America season and head out for its final non-conference match of the regular season with a matchup at Kansas Wesleyan on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in Salina, Kan.

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