MITCHELL, S.D. – After splitting the first two sets, the Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball team found themselves right where they wanted to be against No. 12 Northwestern College. However, Northwestern pulled away from DWU in the Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup in the final two sets to take the victory Wednesday at the Christen Family Athletic Center.
Set scores were 11-25, 25-20, 17-25, 16-25.
The opening set belonged to the Red Raiders (18-5, 9-2 GPAC) as they took an early 14-2 lead and never looked back.
However, the Tigers (12-11, 2-9 GPAC) fought their way back as they led 12-7 midway through the second set after a Brittany Bergquist (Wolsey, S.D.) kill. Leading by two late in the set, DWU finished on a 6-4 run to down Northwestern and even the match.
The height of the Red Raiders proved to be too much as they finished with 14 blocks, taking the final two sets and the match.
Leading the way for DWU was Chelsey Heeg (Freeman, S.D.) who finished with 11 kills and seven digs, while Mallory Cooper (Orchard, Neb.) tallied 15 digs. Rebecca Frick (Yankton, S.D.) added 12 digs and eight kills, as Emily Brunsing (Wagner, S.D.) tallied seven kills and four blocks.
The Tigers take the court against GPAC foe the College of Saint Mary for Dig Pink Night at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Christen Family Athletic Center.
