No. 5 Dordt downs Tigers in GPAC play

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – After starting off hot in the opening set, the Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball team dropped the match to No. 5 Dordt College in a Great Plains Athletic Conference bout in straight sets Saturday in Sioux Center, Iowa.

 Set scores were 17-25, 21-25, 28-30.

 The Tigers (16-14, 4-11 GPAC) jumped out to an early 7-2 lead following a Rebecca Frick (Yankton, S.D.) kill. However, the Defenders (23-2, 16-0 GPAC) scored five-straight points to tie the game at seven and ran away with the opening set.

 After Dordt took a 10-6 lead, the Tigers took a 13-11 lead after Frick collected back-to-back kills. Both teams answered the other down the stretch, but Dordt pulled away to take the second set.

 The final set was a back-and-forth affair as neither team led by more than four points. Emily Brunsing (Wagner, S.D.) tallied a kill to give DWU a late 20-19 lead. Later in the set, Chelsey Heeg (Freeman, S.D.) added a kill of her own to tie the set at 28. The Defenders were able to tally two points in a row to put the Tigers away.

 Frick finished with 12 digs and 11 kills, while Bridgett Knobbe (Norfolk, Neb.) tallied 25 assists and 11 digs. Heeg notched nine kills and Brunsing chipped in five kills and 1.5 blocks.

 DWU concludes the regular season on senior day against Briar Cliff University at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Christen Family Athletic Center.