Tigers sweep opening day of season

West Palm Beach, Fla. – The Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball team headed south to kick off the 2019 season and finished the day defeating Keiser University and Pensacola Christian College Friday in West Palm Beach, Fla.

 The set scores of the opening game were 25-20, 25-11, 20-25, 25-16.

 Both teams answered each other in the opening set as the score was tied, 6-6. However, the Seahawks (0-3) took a 9-6 advantage moments later. But a kill by Bridgett Knobbe (Norfolk, Neb.) kickstarted the Tigers (2-0). Neither team could pull away until DWU scored the final four points off Keiser errors.

 The Tigers got off to a hot start in the second set as kills by Emily Brunsing (Wagner, S.D.) and Rebecca Frick (Yankton, S.D.) gave them a 9-3 lead. Following a Keiser timeout, a kill by Brittany Bergquist (Wolsey, S.D.) and Chaydon Metzger (Larchwood, Iowa) pushed the Tiger lead to 11 points and onto victory.

 After dropping the third set, DWU responded with a strong fourth set. Kills by Frick and Bergquist and a service ace by Mallory Cooper (Orchard, Neb.) gave the Tigers an early 4-0 advantage. Brunsing capped off the final set with back-to-back kills to give DWU its' first victory of the season.

 Frick tallied 17 kills and 16 digs, as Bergquist added 10 kills and 4.5 blocks. Brunsing recorded six kills and four blocks, as Jadie DeLange (Monument, Colo.) added six kills and a pair of blocks.

 The set scores of the second game were 25-16, 25-17, 25-7.

 The Tigers jumped out to a commanding 17-10 lead in the second game thanks to kills by Metzger, Frick and DeLange. After winning the opening set, a kill by DeLange and a service ace by freshman Dannielle Burns (Raymond, Minn.) gave DWU a 15-7 lead.

 Freshman Madeline Else (Holstein, Iowa) finished the second set with a kill, as the Tigers ran away in the third set to finish 2-0 on the day.

 Frick finished with 12 kills and four digs, while Brunsing and DeLange added seven kills apiece. Knobbe notched 24 assists and five digs, as Cooper recorded 10 digs.

 DWU returns to action against Georgetown College at 7 a.m. and (RV) Madonna University at 11 a.m. tomorrow in West Palm Beach, Fla.