NO.18 TIGER VOLLEYBALL FOUGHT HARD ON THE ROAD AGAIN NO.4 JAMESTOWN
Jamestown, N.D. – No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan volleyball got on the wrong end of the score in the first and second sets but came back with a dominate third set win 25-14 and a tough fourth set win 25-21 to force a pivotal fifth set at Harold Newman Arena Wednesday night.
The Quick Details
Score:
#18 DWU 2 - #4 UJ 3 (20-25, 16-25, 25-14, 25-21, 12-15)
Records:
#18 DWU 10-3 (GPAC 3-2)
#4 UJ 14-1 (GPAC 3-0)
How It Happened
No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan jumped on No. 4 Jamestown early in the opening set with a big 8-1 lead to kick things off. The Tigers recorded several kills from hitters, Mackenzie Miller and Ady Dwight as Tya Weideman served for six straight Tiger points. The Jimmies began to close the lead point-by-point till they came within three points of the tie. Emily Dale pushed the DWU lead back to four points at 12-8 after Madeline Else connected with Dale for the kill. The Tigers held the lead over the Jimmies for much of the first set until 17-17, then again at 18-18. UJ allowed only one more Tiger kill from Miller then gave DWU a free point on a Jimmie attacking error; before shutting the door and grabbing the opening set win 25-20.
The second set was a tough one for the Tigers. The Jimmies held the Tigers hitting only .059 percent with nine kills and seven attacking errors. DWU was unable to get into their rhythm as UJ forced DWU to battle from behind the entire set. Jamestown posted their second-best hitting percentage of the evening in this set with a .206 on 13 kills and only six errors.
Head coach Lindsay Wilber and company reset for the third set breaking the match open. The Tigers recorded their best hitting percentage of the match at .484 with only one lone error on 16 kills and 31 total attacks. DWU took a dominate lead early at 16-8 and never slowed down. Dwight pushed the Tiger lead to eight at 18-10 before Mariah Gloe sent an attack to the hardwood keeping the DWU lead at eight 19-11. Miller did the same just two rotations later holding the Tiger lead to eight. After the Miller kill, Dakota Wesleyan shut down the Jimmies enroute to a 6-2 run to avoid the sweep.
No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan continued to hit well through the fourth set with 17 kills, holding No. 4 Jamestown to their second worst hitting percentage of the match at .156. Before DWU secured their first lead of the fourth set, the Jimmies and Tigers had seven ties. After being knotted at 9-9, the Tigers broke off to a four-point lead thanks to back-to-back UJ attacking errors and a kill from Abigail Brunsing. Jamestown went on a short run of their own later on trying the game again at 18-18. Dakota Wesleyan once again proceeded to slow the Jamestown attack allowing only two more kills before the Jimmies posted a service ace. Dale and Miller each recorded one kill as the set neared match point. The Tigers top hitter of the night, Dwight sent home the match point for the 25-21, fourth set win and tying the match overall at 2-2 forcing a fifth and final set.
Both No. 18 DWU and No. 4 UJ wanted the pivotal fifth set in the battle of the top-25. The Tigers got the first point of the match after a bad set by the Jimmies but was short lived as UJ tied things back up at 1-1 on a kill. The lead went back and forth with five more ties through a score of 8-8. Thanks to a pair of kills by Miller and a big block from Dwight and Brunsing, the Tigers were in the driver's seat with an 11-8 lead. UJ quickly cut the advantage DWU had back to nothing after a Tiger attacking error for the 11-11 tie with four points left up for grabs. Dakota Wesleyan's attack fell short after that as Dwight was the only Tiger to record a kill as No. 4 Jamestown won the race to 15 and won the match three sets to two over No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan.
Overall, the Tigers and Jimmies hit just .018 apart from each other; DWU tallied 58 kills with 21 errors for a .204 hitting percentage. While Jamestown recorded 66 kills and 25 errors for a .222 hitting percentage. Dwight set a new season and career high in kills with 25 while hitting a team best .396 percent. Madeline Else was just one set shy of tying her career high in assists after posting 52. Else also chipped in with eight digs and three kills. Gloe and Hanna Reiff notched 22 and 21 digs, respectively. Miller got in on the action with 14 kills and a pair of assisted blocks.
Up Next
No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan volleyball return home this weekend to kick off a two match homestand to start off the 2022 Blue & White homecoming week for DWU. The No. 18 Tigers will square off on Saturday, September 24 against No. 13 College of Saint Mary at 3 p.m. in the Christen Family Athletic Center. The Tigers will them play again at home against in state rival (RV) Dakota State on Tuesday, September 27 with that match beginning at 7 p.m. from Fosness Arena.