Mount Mercy University - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Mustangs slowed down by Baker

No juice. No joy.

That was the story for the Mount Mercy men's basketball team at the Hennessey Recreation Center Saturday afternoon.

The Mustangs were held to their lowest point total of the season and lost to Baker University, 75-62, in a Heart of America Conference game.

The setback dropped Mount Mercy to 12-11 overall and 7-10 in the conference, leaving the Mustangs in a three-way tie for seventh place in the tight league standings with Baker and Central Methodist.

The Mustangs are only one game out of sixth place in the Heart of America standings, but they're also only one game out of 12th place in the 13-team conference.

Mount Mercy came into the home game with two straight victories over MidAmerica Nazarene and Graceland, but they shot only 38.7 percent from the field and never got rolling. Baker had a 9-and-12 record when the ballgame began, yet was clearly the better team Saturday.

"I thought it was a huge disappointment," said Coach Aaron Jennings. "I thought coming off a couple of tough wins, you'd like to think you've got some momentum.

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Mount Mercy volleyball goes 4-0

ELGIN, Ill. - The Mount Mercy men's volleyball team won two more matches at the Judson University Tournament Saturday and finished the event with a perfect 4-0 record.

The Mustangs topped Siena Heights, 3-1, in their first match with set scores of 25-22, 25-20, 24-26, 25-19.

Mount Mercy blanked Goshen College, 3-0, with set scores of 25-23, 25-20, 25-22.

Nikola Stoimenov collected 16 kills against Siena Heights. Ben Steffen had 10 kills and eight blocks. Strahil Svilenski had eight kills, Evan Gaskill had seven kills and Mitchell Wannahwilai made 15 digs. Andrew Colantone contributed 37 assists and five blocks.

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Nickelson wins twice for Mustangs

DECORAH - Luke Nickelson of Mount Mercy won two events at the Luther Alumni indoor track meet in Decorah Saturday.

Nickelson, from Nipomo, Calif., captured the long jump (6.59 meters) and the triple jump (13.44 meters) for the Mustangs.

Michael Marshall placed second in the 1,000 meter run (2:39.62). Rafael Passanha finished third in the 200 meter dash (23.97), Josh Long was third in the 800 (2:07.36) and the Mustangs took third in the 4x200 relay (1:40.24).

Kathryn Vander Poel of Mount Mercy claimed the women's 1,000 meter run (3:00.98) in a tight race with teammate Andrea Ertz, who finished second in 3:01.13.

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Mustang women fall to 1-17

The Mount Mercy women's basketball team lost to Baker, 73-57, in a Heart of America Conference game at the Hennessey Recreation Center Saturday.

The Mustangs fell to 5-19 overall and 1-17 in the conference.

Aaliyah Brown led Mount Mercy with 21 points and seven rebounds. Audrey Mulumba scored 11 points. Sharice Kawakami had nine points and six assists.

Caitlin Modesett scored 22 points and Jessica Zweifel had 21 for Baker (15-10, 10-9). Modesett made six 3-pointers.

BAKER (73): Bannister 2 0-0 4, Bird 2 4-4 8, Smith 1 2-2 5, Modesett 6 4-8 21, Zweifel 6 8-11 21, Weathers 1 0-0 3, Griffin 1 1-4 3, Roberts-Rosser 1 2-2 4, Karolina-Alvarado 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 21-31 73.

MOUNT MERCY (57): Brown 8 2-2 21, Kawakami 3 1-2 9, Blowers 0 0-0 0, Lampe 1 0-0 3, Mulumba 4 0-0 11, Goodman 0 2-2 2, Kitterman 0 0-0 0, Hampton 0 2-6 2, Sheck 0 1-2 1, Moffett 1 1-2 3, LeGrand 1 3-4 5. Totals 18 12-20 57.

Halftime - Baker 39, Mount Mercy 24. 3-point goals - Baker 10 (Modesett 6, Smith 1, Zweifel 1, Weathers 1, Karolina-Alvarado 1), Mount Mercy 9 (Brown 3, Mulumba 3, Kawakami 2, Lampe 1).