ADRIAN, Mich. - Fresh off an exciting opening day at the Siena Heights Labor Day Invitational, the Midway women's volleyball team carried that momentum into its first match Saturday, before running out of gas by tournament's end.
The Eagles earned a 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22 victory over Indiana Northwest in the opener, then played two-and-a-half competitive sets against host Siena Heights, before the Saints pulled away for a 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 25-12 win in the afternoon finale.
MIDWAY 3, INDIANA NORTHWEST 1
Playing on about 12-hours rest following a late-night thriller against Trinity Christian (Ill.) Friday, the Eagles found enough energy to win three tight sets, thanks largely to the contributions of Emily Slaughter and Aubry Koester.
Slaughter continued her excellent play in the tournament by recording 19 kills on a .455 hitting percentage. She had kills for three of the Eagles' final four points in the first set and also had the clinching point with a kill in the third.
Koester added 12 kills while also having some of the best service and defensive numbers of her decorated tenure at Midway.
Her five service aces tied her previous career high set against Carlow on Oct. 22, 2021, while her 20 digs were the second best total of her career, behind only the 22 she had against Indiana East on Oct. 15, 2022.
Freshman Paige Miles had her second-consecutive 19-assist match, with Marinna Liedle adding 15.
Anju Sugiya (14) and Miles (11) both had double-digit digs as well.
SIENNA HEIGHTS 3, MIDWAY 1
Koester and Slaughter were the stars again, both finishing the match with 15 kills. Koester added 15 more digs and three aces, while a Slaughter attack delivered the winning point in set two.
The Eagles seemed to have momentum again in set three, as kills by Nyla Gaines and Koester on back-to-back plays gave them a 17-14 lead, only for the Saints to put together a late surge, going up a set by scoring six of the final seven points.
Midway then scored the first three points and held an 11-7 lead in set four before the wheels fell off, with Siena Height closing out on an 18-1 run.
In the loss, Miles again set a career high with 25 assists. Meghan Adams also had 10 kills for the Eagles, who improve to 4-2 overall at the end of a 3-1 weekend.
Midway is back on the road for a 7 p.m. match at Ohio Christian Tuesday.
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