NO. 13 TIGERS DROP TO 4-4 ON SEASON AFTER 0-4 WEEKEND AGAINST TOP RANKED OPPONENTS
Columbia, Mo. -- The Tigers finished off their Missouri trip on the opposite side of the fence as their Florida trip going 0-4 and winning just the lone set against William Penn. Ady Dwight led the way on offense during the two games today with her 26 kills. Hailey Bleeker was a bright spot in game one against WPU collecting a career-high nine kills and was a major factor in the set three win. Dakota Wesleyan struggled all tournament against the top-25 opponents with committing errors and the head-to-head play at the net. Opponents were dominating the Tigers in the block department which really made the difference in the scores in each matchup. DWU had a lot of young players get their first experience at NAIA top-25 volleyball and will take that experience and knowledge and use it for when the Tigers return for their GPAC schedule which has seven teams including DWU ranked in the top-25.
The Quick Details game one vs. William Penn
Score:
No.13 DWU 1 – WPU 3 (15-25, 20-25, 25-16, 19-25)
Records:
No. 13 DWU 4-3
WPU 1-3
Recap
The Dakota Wesleyan Tigers were looking to flush yesterday's two losses against top-25 opponents with their matchup against William Penn University. DWU however, struggled to find their rhythm on offense and had a hard time with the WPU size and blocks at the net. They finished the match with a .201 attack percentage on the day with their best set coming in the third, which was the lone set they won (25-16) with an extremely efficient .486 percentage. The lowest for the Tigers was in set one with .067. Dakota Wesleyan throughout the match was having a hard time getting it through the Statesmen blockers. William Penn racked up four solo and 16 assisted blocks in the game compared to the Tigers six assisted blocks. Head coach Lindsay Wilber midway through the first set made a switch at setter with Jaelyn Benson taking over the floor general duties. Benson finished the match with 35 assists. As usual Ady Dwight was the main source of offense for the Tigers, collecting 17 kills during the four-set match. Dwight was followed by senior Hailey Bleeker with a career-high nine kills.
In set one the Tigers fell in an early 7-3 hole. The Statesmen collected a pair of aces during the stretch to go with taking advantage of two DWU attack errors, one coming on an assisted block. The Tigers clawed back to tie it at 10. Dakota Wesleyan used a balance attack getting kills from Emily Dale, Dwight, Abigail Brunsing, Elizabeth Tyler, and an ace serve from Tya Weideman to fuel the run. Like all tournament though DWU was plagued by a big run from the Statesmen that brought the score to 20-14 after the 10-4 run. WPU closed out the Tigers 25-15 to grab set one.
Set two was a back and forth set from start to finish. The Statesmen would end on top with the 25-20 set two win though. The scoreboard wouldn't tell the whole story though with a lot of WPU points coming off uncharacteristic errors on the DWU side of the net. The Tigers committed a total of 11 errors between attack, set, serve receive, and ball handling errors in set two alone. DWU kept it close throughout the set but never held a lead at any point during the second set. The Statesmen collected four service aces that really fueled and made the difference down the stretch.
The Tigers wouldn't go down without a fight in set three, earning a commanding 25-16 win. As stated, before the Tigers found their balance and were clicking from start to finish in the set swinging an efficient .486 percentage. Dakota Wesleyan went on a massive 18-4 run that gave them a 21-10 lead after trailing 6-3 to open the set. The run included a 10-1 run that really put the set out of reach. DWU got a big push from Bleeker in the run racking up four kills during the stretch alone. Set four had the Tigers fall behind early and the Statesmen holding onto that with a 20-13 lead late in the game. DWU didn't go away quietly bringing it close but ultimately fell 25-19 in set four dropping the match 3-1.
In game two against the No. 19 Eagles the Tigers continued to struggle to find their rhythm as a new young team. The Tigers lost in straight sets 25-19, 25-17, and 25-15. DWU on offense had 32 kills but again committed too many errors with their 15 total in the game. The Eagles had eight aces in the match, continuing to show the Tigers struggle on the weekend with serve receive. Dakota Wesleyan got production from both Brunsing and Dwight with nine kills apiece. Kayleigh Hybertson and Benson split setting duties with Hybertson racking up a team game-high 17 assists followed by Benson with 10.
The Quick Details game two vs. No. 19 Central Methodist
Score:
No.13 DWU 3 – No. 19 CMU 0 (19-25, 17-25, 15-25)
Records:
No. 13 DWU 4-4
No. 19 CMU 1-2
Up Next
No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan Tigers return to South Dakota for a matchup at Dakota State, August 29 at 7:00 p.m.
