TIGER VOLLEYBALL KEEPS MOMENTUM HIGH IN SWEEP OVER MUSTANGS

Sioux City, Iowa – No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan Volleyball opened the match today against Morningside hitting .308 as a team with only one error. The match was hard fought on both sides, but the Tigers edged out the Mustangs on overall hitting percentage .172 to .123.

The Quick Details

Score:

#18 DWU – MOR (25-20, 25-23, 25-20)

Records:

#18 DWU 10-2 (GPAC 3-1)

MOR 4-12 (GPAC 1-3)

How It Happened

The Tigers and Mustangs were close through a majority of the first set this evening with the Mustangs tying the match several times till DWU got some rhythm and started pulling away. After Ady Dwight knotted the set at 11-11, the Tigers got three more free points from Morningside on a pair of attacking errors and a ball handling error for the 14-11 lead. Proceeding a kill from Emily Dale, the Mustangs called a timeout trying to cool off DWU. That proved to be unsuccessful as the Tiger lead continued to grow before Dakota Wesleyan reached the magic number of 25 faster thanks to a set ending kill by Dwight. The Tigers hit their best of the match in set one posting 13 kills and only one error for a .308 hitting percentage.

The tabled turned in the second set though; the Mustangs jumped on top of the Tigers right away with a 12-5 lead. But, that didn't matter as DWU started to claw their way back into the set. Morningside took a timeout with a 12-9 lead over Dakota Wesleyan, once play resumed; the Tigers began to piece together some rallies and get back into the set. Mackenzie Miller cut the deficit to 13-10, after two more points from Morningside, Dwight added a kill, followed by Abigail Brunsing. Dale just a few rallied later, put the Tigers within one point of tying the game at 16-17. The Tigers evened the score shortly after at 19-19 on a block from Miller and Dale. Dwight and Brunsing tied the set again at 22-22 then 23-23 before Tya Weideman served out the set and putting a bow on the match point with a service ace. The Tigers grabbed set two 25-23 and the 2-0 match lead.

The third and final set of the evening was all DWU. The Tigers grabbed the lead on the opening rally after a block by Miller and Dwight, then never allowed the Mustangs to tie or lead the set after that. Multiple attacking errors from Morningside, along with a service ace from Callie Slagter and a kill from Brunsing, put the Tigers on top 8-5. After a pair of attacking errors by the Mustangs; Morningside called for a short hiatus in play but proved not have no effect as they committed yet another attacking error pushing the DWU lead to 13-9. Keeping a three- or four-point lead, on even more errors by the Mustangs and kills from Dwight and Mariah Gloe, the Tigers needed only five more points to secure the sweep. At 20-16, Morningside took another timeout of the set, then grabbed a pair of points cutting the deficit to two-points. After that, the Tigers only allowed only two more points before Dale, Miller, and Brunsing all tallied kills for the 25-20 set three win and the 3-0 sweep.

Overall, DWU hit .172 percent with 36 kills and 14 errors on 128 total attempts; compared to the Mustangs .123 hitting percentage on 42 kills, 26 errors and 130 total attempts. Dwight led the Tigers with ten kills and a .241 hitting percentage, while also recording a pair of blocks. Miller posted seven kills with three blocks and Dale recorded six kills and three blocks. Madeline Else filled her assist bucket with 34 and adding six digs. Hanna Reiff and Slagter were solid on the defensive side of the Tigers with 17 and 12 digs, respectively.

Up Next

Dakota Wesleyan volleyball will hit the road again for a midweek match on Wednesday, September 21. The Tigers will travel north to Jamestown, N.D. and face the fourth ranked team in the nation. The No. 18 Tigers and No. 4 Jimmies will take the court for JV at 6 p.m., then the varsity teams square off at 7:30 p.m. from Harold Newman Arena.