TIGER VOLLEYBALL STAYS PERFECT AFTER A TOUGH FINAL DAY IN FLORIDA

West Palm Beach, Fla. – Dakota Wesleyan volleyball battled for two more wins in Florida today. The Tigers grabbed a quick three-set sweep against Olivet Nazarene. Then, had to dig deep to win the five-set bout against No. 20 Columbia College.

The Quick Details

Game One:

No. 15 DWU 3 – ONU 0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-11)

Game Two:

No. 15 DWU 3 – No. 20 CC 2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-9)

How It Happened

Game One:

• The No. 15 Tigers had another stingy opponent this morning from the campus of Keiser University for the Chick-Fil-A Classic.
• The opening set was kept close by Olivet Nazarene until DWU got some rhythm going off some sets from Madeline Else.
• After a pair of kills from Mackenzie Miller and Mariah Gloe, DWU was up 8-5, then two errors by ONU gave the Tigers a 10-5 lead early on.
• DWU stayed strong on the defensive as five of their next; six points came from various errors by Olivet Nazarene, pushing their lead to 16-7.
• Callie Slagter set up Gloe late in the first set to keep the Tiger lead at nine points, 18-9.
• Tya Weideman also assisted in a kill from Else just a few points later for the Tigers largest lead of set one at 21-9.
• The errors continued to happen on ONU's side as they hit -.105, compared to the Tigers .345 hitting percentage.
• While DWU did not hit their best until the third and final set, they rebounded in the second set after falling behind 8-3 early on.
• The Tigers were able to keep the score close through a few ONU errors, then they got back into their swing and jumped out to a four-point lead after three kills from Ady Dwight and one from Miller.
• ONU cleaned up their attacking late in set two, bringing the score back to 21-19 DWU lead.
• The kill and DWU error were the last two points ONU was allowed to get on the Tigers as they went on to get the final four points needed to secure the 25-19 win for a two-set lead.
• Dakota Wesleyan hit their best in the third set, and it showed; the Tigers quickly gained a 12-point lead over ONU as the attacking was distributed, around the front line.
• ONU had minimal chances to score thanks to the strong front that DWU, put up as they grabbed the three-set sweep in dominating fashion on a 25-11 final set win.
• In the final set, the Tigers hit .476 percent while they held ONU to hitting .115 percent.
• Overall, the Tigers hit .423 percent, led by Dwight with 18 kills and a .696 hitting percentage.
• Hanna Reiff led the team with 11 digs as Else was the team leader in assists with 37.

Game Two:

• The Tigers had their hands full during the final match in Florida against No. 20 Columbia College Cougars.
• The Cougars struck first in the opening set, getting a kill and a service ace to lead DWU 2-0.
• While DWU got off to a slow start, they came back and tied the set 5-5 after Brunsing and Gloe each tallied a kill and then combined for the block.
• Shortly after, Miller got the much-needed solo block for the first Tiger lead at 7-6.
• CC took a two-point lead after a pair of DWU errors making, it a 13-11 game in favor of the Cougars.
• After DWU lost the lead at 12-11, they kept it close enough to tie the game multiple times before Gloe broke the sequence giving the Tigers a one-point lead at 17-16.
• The Tigers held the lead for the remainder of the first set, going on a six-point run to lead 1-0.
• Dakota Wesleyan only hit .257 percent in the first set notching 12 kills and three errors.
• Columbia College hit .053 percent with 12 kills and 10 errors.
• The Tigers got into a 16-13 deficit that forced a Tiger timeout from Head Coach Wilber; out of the play pause, Taylee Indahl brought DWU within two points of tying the game.
• Late in the second set, DWU made a push for their first lead of the set outscoring CC 7-5 the Tigers now were going to have to look at getting the victory in four sets
• Through the third set, Dakota Wesleyan and Columbia College were once again in a very close bout.
• After the Tigers tied the set at 9-9, DWU went on another 7-3 run, pushing the lead to 16-12, forcing a Cougar timeout in hopes of slowing the momentum.
• As the Cougars were beginning to close the gap at 20-18, the Tigers took a timeout to regroup and get back on track.
• The Tigers would grab the third set in a 25-20 win and lead 2-1 overall.
• Set four was not the best set for DWU as they only hit .171 percent with seven errors, while the Cougars hit their best all game in the fourth set with a .270.
• Columbia College went on several large runs throughout the fourth set that DWU couldn't answer, including an 8-4 run by the Cougars as the match was tied, 2-2.
• Dakota Wesleyan turned things around in the fifth set, hitting .280 while keeping their errors to only three.
• The Cougars only managed to get six kills but also made five errors in the same set.
• The Tigers jumped out to a 12-5 lead thanks to kills from Brunsing, and Dwight, along with multiple Cougar errors.
• Of the final four points needed to stay perfect on the season, Brunsing was the go-to for all four kills.
• Overall, the DWU hit .211 percent while CC hit .138 percent.
• Dwight led the team with 21 kills and a .362 hitting percentage, while Brunsing and Indahl tallied 16 and 12 kills, respectively.
• Else set up 59 assists with three blocks as Reiff notched 31 digs and one service ace.

Up Next

No. 15 Tiger volleyball continues there road trip to start the season with a trip to Mayville, N.D., on Saturday, August 27. The Tigers and Comets are set for a 4 p.m. first serve before closing the book on the first month of the 2022 season.