Volleyball falls in first GPAC quarterfinal appearance

SEWARD, Neb. – After a record-setting fall, including a plethora of firsts for the program, the (RV) Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball team eyed a spot in the Great Plains Athletic Conference semifinals as they battled No. 10 Concordia University on Saturday. However, the impressive season came to a close after dropping straight sets to Concordia in the GPAC quarterfinals in Seward, Neb.

 Set scores were 19-25, 26-28, 15-25.

 After Concordia held a 6-3 advantage in the first set, DWU scored four of the next five points to tie the game thanks to a kill and service ace by Mariah Gloe (Watertown, S.D.). Neither team grabbed momentum as McKenzie Buisker (Watertown, S.D.) and Jadie DeLange (Monument, Colo.) recorded kills to keep the Tigers (12-9) tied.

 However, leading 15-14, the Bulldogs (15-3) began to pull away as they quickly turned their lead into a 25-19 opening-set victory after scoring 10 of the final 15 points.

 Concordia opened the second set with a quick 8-2 advantage. Despite the slow start, the Tigers tied the set at 11 after kills by Buisker and Gloe and a handful of errors by Concordia. After the Blue and Gray tied the set at 11, Madeline Else (Holstein, Iowa) set the ball to Taylee Indahl (Burke, S.D.) for the kill to hand DWU a 12-11 lead.

 The teams traded blows as neither led by more than two points for the remainder of the set. Trailing 25-24, Buisker did not let the Tigers go down without a fight as she tallied a pair of kills to tie the game at 26 moments later. However, Concordia snatched the second set from DWU as they held a 2-0 set lead.

 In the final set, Indahl notched a service ace in the opening moments to keep the score tied, 3-3. But the Bulldogs began to pull away as they quickly turned the 3-3 tie into an 18-8 advantage. Although a kill by Gloe and Dannielle Burns (Raymond, Minn.) began to give life to the Tigers, Concordia sealed the match with a victory in the third set.

 Buisker and Gloe each finished with nine kills, as Gloe added eight digs and four block assists. Else and Hanna Reiff (Chester, S.D.) combined for 39 digs, while Else chipped in 28 assists.