LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Under the direction of first-year head coach Kennedy Mang, the Midway women's volleyball team got their season underway on Tuesday night when they made the short trip to Louisville, Ky. to battle Boyce (Ky.) inside Honeycutt Center Gym.

The Eagles got off to a bit of a slow start and dropped the first set, but they quickly bounced back winning the next three sets to secure the 3-1 victory (19-25, 25-13, 25-16, 25-17).

With the win, Coach Mang picks up the first victory of her career as her team improves to 1-0, while the Bulldogs slip to 1-2 following the loss.

The Bulldogs got off to a strong start leading by as many as seven en route to a 25-19 victory in the opening set.

Midway, which posted just a .133 hitting clip in the opening set, quickly got their offense going in the second stanza. Aubry Koester (Apple Valley, Calif.) put down three kills before Hannah Brink (Greenville, Mich.) and Anju Sugiya (Tokyo, Japan) added back-to-back kills forcing Boyce to call a timeout trailing 9-4.

The timeout didn't slow Midway's momentum as they would level the match at a set apiece after winning the second frame 25-13.

The Blue and Gold got off to another strong start in the third set where they used a 10-2 run to take a 13-4 advantage forcing the home team to burn a timeout. Midway would hold a comfortable lead throughout the set on their way to a 2-1 lead in the match after winning the set 25-16.

The final frame saw the Eagles take a 7-1 advantage after Koester put down three kills in the opening eight points. Midway would lead by as many as eight in the fourth set before Meghan Adams (Paducah, Ky.) put down a kill to clinch the 3-1 victory with a 25-17 fourth set victory.

Koester led the way offensively with a big-time double-double that included 18 kills, 15 digs, and a .368 hitting mark. Brink chipped in seven kills, while Emily Slaughter (Gallatin, Tenn.) also added seven kills to go with a career-high 19 digs.

Marinna Liedle (St. Peters, Mo.) and Katherine Rodriguez Ortiz (Fajardo, Puerto Rico) split time running the offense and dished out 26 and 16 assists, respectively. Defensively, Kylie Kohrs (Fort Thomas, Ky.) recorded 12 digs, while Sugiya finished with 10 digs of her own.

Coach Mang's team will return to action this weekend when they compete in the Showdown in the Woods on Friday and Saturday. They'll take on Kalamazoo (Mich.) at 4 p.m. and Goshen (Ind.) on Friday to open the two-day tournament.

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