Tigers battle Mustangs on Senior Night

MITCHELL, S.D. – In the final game of the 2019 season, the Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball team fell at the hands of Morningside College in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup in four sets, Wednesday at the Christen Family Athletic Center.

 Set scores were 21-25, 25-22, 18-25, 20-25.

 In the opening set of the night, Morningside held an 11-9 lead until three-straight kills by Rebecca Frick (Yankton, S.D.), Jadie DeLange (Monument, Colo.) and Callie Heath (Colome, S.D.) gave DWU a 12-11 advantage.

 Both teams traded blows until the Mustangs (16-10, 8-8 GPAC) put together a 3-0 run to hold a 22-19 lead. Morningside was able to use the run to hold off the Tigers and win the first set.

 The Mustangs jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the following set. However, the Tigers (20-12, 4-12 GPAC) rallied with three-straight points thanks to kills by Frick and Mackenzie Miller (Mitchell, S.D.) to tie the set. With the score tied at 12, DWU went on a 6-0 spurt that was capped off by an Emily Brunsing (Wagner, S.D.) kill.

 Following a Morningside timeout, they reeled off six of the next eight points to pull within two points. However, the Tigers hung on thanks to kills by Frick and Mariah Gloe (Watertown, S.D.).

 The Mustangs came out hot in the third set as they took an early 11-3 lead. But the Tigers once again climbed back into the game following an Elena Svingen (Pierre, S.D.) service ace that eventually cut the deficit to three points.

 After Morningside extended its' lead back to six points, DWU rallied with three points in a row. But it was not enough as the Mustangs hung on for a third set win.

 It was DWU's turn to start quickly in the fourth set as they held a 5-2 advantage following a Frick kill. But the Mustangs climbed back into the game with a pair of kills to cut the score down to three points later in the set.

 The Tigers cushioned their lead to five points later after a Frick kill. But the lead did not last long as the Mustangs came back to tie the game at 19. Morningside eventually scored five of the final six points in the set to down the Tigers on Senior Night.

 Frick finished the night with 18 kills and 12 digs, as Brunsing added 11 kills and 1.5 blocks. Bridgett Knobbe (Norfolk, Neb.) tallied 45 assists and 14 digs, while Mallory Cooper (Orchard, Neb.) notched 15 digs.

 The Tigers complete the season with an overall record of 20-12.