(RV) TIGERS GRAB FIRST GPAC WIN OF THE SEASON 3-1 OVER DEFENDERS

Mitchell, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan Tigers took care of business in their first home match of the 2023 season, winning 3-1 against Dordt University. DWU split the first two sets with DOR, before going on to win sets three and four in blowout fashion (25-14 & 25-13). The Tigers were led by their All-American Ady Dwight with her 19 kills and three total blocks. Kayleigh Hybertson commanded the net and floor once again racking up 38 assists, three blocks, one ace, and three kills on four attempts. Tya Weideman was all over the DOR attack with her 21 digs and court awareness of letting balls out go all night. Abigail Brunsing had a strong night with her 14 kills as well. DWU improved to 9-5 (1-0 GPAC) while DOR dropped to 1-7 (0-2 GPAC).

The Quick Details vs. Dordt

Score:

(RV) DWU 3 – DOR 1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-14, 25-13)

Records:

(RV) DWU 9-5 (1-0 GPAC)

DOR 1-7 (0-2 GPAC)

Recap

 Dakota Wesleyan grabbed set one 25-22. Nothing too flashy came from the Tigers in the set, recording 13 kills and only four errors for a .273 percentage. The Tigers did their job of limiting their mistakes and letting Dordt beat themselves. The Defenders had eight errors in the set which surprisingly was the second lowest amount in a set for the game. Brunsing was the star in the set racking up six of her 14 total kills in the set alone. Dwight added three followed by Dale with two. The Tigers also got a pair of service aces from Lily Ranschau and Elizabeth Tyler in the set. The first half of the set was a back-and-forth contest with eight ties and seven lead changes. DWU pulled away late jumping out to a 21-17 lead drawing a Dordt timeout. The Tigers closed them out for the 25-22 set win.

Dordt had their best set-in set two with their 19 kills and their six errors, which was the lowest in the match. The Defenders also, for the first and only time, had a better attack percentage than the Tigers with their .283 compared to DWU .275. Dordt claimed a 3-0 lead out of the gate and never really looked back, maintaining that lead for most of the set and even having a 17-11 lead at one point in the set. Dakota Wesleyan being the tough, resilient team they are though clawed back to tie the game at 21 apiece completing the comeback on a 10-4 run. A combo of Dordt errors and Dwight taking over fueled the run. Dwight was responsible for half the points during the run, including four straight kills. With the score tied 24-24, Dordt got a kill and DWU attack error to close out the second set 26-24.

The bad news ended their for the Tigers dominating sets three and four by a total score of 50-27. They really put the Defenders out of reach early with their 6-0 run to open the third set. They held that big lead and only grew on it as the set went on. The Tigers again didn't do anything to flashy on offense, collecting 11 kills in both sets. The key was limiting mistakes, playing strong defense, and the superb court awareness all night knowing when to go after a ball and not. The Defenders committed attack error after attack error on their way to 13 in set three and 11 in set four, resulting in negative hitting percentages in both sets. Besides set two, the Tigers really commanded the net recording 13 blocks in the game. This is what the Defenders had a hard time answering to, resulting in their attempts going long and having to do too much to avoid the blocks. Dwight, Brunsing, Dale, and Hybertson all record two or more blocks in the contest.

Head-to-Head (Dordt)

• The Tigers are 4-1 in the last five matchups with the Defenders.
• Last year they split with Dordt losing 3-0 in the first matchup, but then winning in straight sets themselves in the second one.

Up Next

The Tigers go back on the road for two games at the Valley City State Tournament Saturday, September 9. The Tigers will face Dickinson State and Valley City State in the two games in one day tournament.