#13 TIGERS GO A PERFECT 4-0 TO OPEN 2023 SEASON, FINISH FLORIDA TRIP 12-0 IN SET PLAY
Mitchell, S.D. -- The #13 Tigers cap off a perfect Florida trip going 4-0 in match play and 12-0 in set play. Dakota Wesleyan picked up two 3-0 sweeps today against Life University and University of Mobile. Ady Dwight had a big second day of the tournament racking up 30 kills, bringing her tournament total to 58 kills. Kayleigh Hybertson also added to her impressive start to her DWU career with 65 assists in today's two games which brings her total on the tournament to 124 assists. Tya Weideman was the anchor on defense with her 34 digs today combo with her 34 yesterday as well giving her 68 on the tournament.
The Quick Details game one vs. Life
Score:
No.13 DWU 3 –LU 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-19)
Records:
No. 13 DWU 3-0
LU 0-1
Recap
Set one:
The Tigers carried their momentum from day one of the tournament into day two with their matchup against the Eagles of Life University with their convincing 25-17 set one victory. In set one Ady Dwight led the way with her five kills. The Tigers used a steady spread out attack getting three kills from Emily Dale, two from Abigail Brunsing and one from Hailey Bleeker and Elizabeth Tyler. Kayleigh Hybertson continued her success as the floor general racking up 12 assists in the set. The game was trending to be a tight game from beginning to end with both squads going point for point resulting in a narrow 12-11 DWU lead nearing the midway point. The Tigers really pulled away after this going on a 13-6 run to close it out for a 25-17 set one win. In the set Dakota Wesleyan took full advantage of the Eagles six attack errors and four service errors. The Tigers had a .259 kill percentage compared to the Eagles .091 during the set.
Set two:
The Eagles responded and looked like they might run away with it in set two with an early 7-3 lead. LU grabbed the early lead thanks to three errors by the Tigers. DWU responded with four straight points to knot it up at 7-7 due to a handful of Eagles errors as well. The Eagles regained a 10-7 lead before the Tigers went on their biggest run of the set scoring six unanswered points to claim a 13-10 lead. The run was fueled by a pair of aces from Carlee Laubach. Life University clawed their way back narrowing the DWU lead to 18-17. Dakota Wesleyan using an attack by committee was able to put the Eagles away for a 25-20 set win.
Set three:
DWU really amped up the defense in set three holding the Eagles to a mere .071 hitting percentage. In the set t the Tigers were running away with it grabbing an early 7-2 lead on the back of Dwight at the net both offensively and defensively and a handful of miss swings by the Eagle attackers. The Eagles started to close the gap bringing the score to 12-8, but DWU responded with another big 5-1 run to push the score back to 18-11. The Eagles made it interesting down the stretch making it a five point game but the Tigers would close the Eagles out 25-19 for the set and match win.
The Quick Details game two vs. Mobile
Score:
No.13 DWU 3 –MU 0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-15)
Records:
No. 13 DWU 4-0
MU 0-1
Recap
Set one:
The Tigers, for the first time in the tournament had a worse hitting percentage than their opponent in set one with the Tigers having a .205 compared to the Rams .231. DWU jumped out to a massive 17-9 lead and looking to run away with the game, but then started committing unforced errors and struggled to put the ball away resulting in the Rams closing the gap to 20-17 and drawing a Lindsay Wilber timeout. This was a well used timeout as DWU went on to close out MU 5-3 to grab the 25-20 set one win. Dakota Wesleyan leaned on their All-American to close things out and secure the win with Dwight earning the final two points of the set off perfect feeds from Hybertson.
Set two:
It was the Eagles in set two who claimed an early 4-1 lead, recording three kills from three different players and one Tiger error. The lone point came off a perfect feed and swing from Hybertson and Tyler. It is tough to keep the Tigers down as the Tigers amped it up on both sides of the court to go on a 11-3 run to grab a 12-7 lead. It was the freshman, Hybertson who took over during the run, earning two kills, three assists, and one block during the stretch. The Rams responded with a big run of their own regaining a 14-13 lead. This time it was the DWU defense that was having some miscommunications and uncharacteristic errors. During the MU run the Rams recorded four service aces and a block on a Tiger attack. Both squads traded the lead back and forth going kill for kill resulting in a 20-20 score. Tigers showed their grit in crunch time closing out the Rams on another 5-1 to earn the 25-21 win and go up two sets to none.
Set three:
DWU didn't slow down in set three jumping to a massive 12-5 lead and never looked back for a 25-15 blowout set three win. The Tigers had their best set of the match offensively with an impressive .406 hitting percentage as well as defensively holding the Rams to their lowest percentage at .138. DWU racked up 17 kills during the set on 32 attempts and only committed four errors. The Tigers again had a steady attack with Dwight and Tyler racking up five kills each in the set, Lily Ranschau collecting her first two kills of the 2023 season, and Hybertson and Brunsing also added two kills apiece. Weideman was all over the place defensively, serving as the consistent anchor for the Tiger defense being credited with 18 digs in the three sets alone. Callie Slagter and Tyler followed with 10 digs each. Laubach continued to show her dominance on the service line with two more aces bringing her total to seven on the tournament.
Up Next
No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan Tigers take a week off before returning to the court for their second road trip of the fall, this time heading to Columbia, Mo. The Tigers will play four games in two days, like the Florida trip. DWU will face a lot tougher matchups with three of the opponents ranking in the top 20 in the country. The three opponents being No. 16 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 14 Columbia, and No. 19 Central Methodist.
