P&D FILE PHOTO Yankton defensive specialist Niki Hovland, who was a key member of the Gazelles' state-qualifying volleyball team this past fall, will attend Morningside College and play volleyball for the Mustangs. Click to view the Slideshow

SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Niki Hovland, a 5-5 defensive specialist from Yankton, will enroll at Morningside College this fall and compete for the volleyball team announced Mustang volleyball head coach Rick Pruett.

Hovland is a senior at Yankton High School, where she helped lead her team to a state tournament appearance this past season. She averaged 4.46 digs per game at the state tournament to rank third among the tourney's competitors.

For the season she had 197 digs an average of 3.03 per game. Hovland also had 25 ace serves and an 80 percent passing efficiency rating.

"Nikki is a very good defensive player who is tough and not afraid to go after every ball," Pruett said. "She has the perfect mentality for what I expect in my defensive players."

Hovland will join a Morningside volleyball team that joined the ranks of the NAIA national powers during the 2007 season when the Mustangs posted a 33-4 record and were ranked 15th nationally in the final NAIA poll. The Mustangs set a school record for winning percentage at .892 and opened the campaign with 15 straight victories for the most consecutive wins in school history. Morningside was the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season champion with a 14-2 league mark as well as the GPAC's post-season tournament champion.