Orange City, Iowa – Fifth seed and ninth ranked team in the nation, Dakota Wesleyan Volleyball gets the job done on the road against fourth seed, six ranked team in the nation, Northwestern. The quarter final match tonight between the Tigers and Raiders was the only match that went to five.
The Quick Details
Score:
#9 DWU 3 - #6 NWC 2 (25-21, 27-25, 12-25, 19-25, 15-12)
Records:
#9 DWU 22-6
#6 NWC 21-7
How It Happened
The Tigers and Raiders started this match off with the same intensity it has been when these two teams meet. NWC tried to run away with the opening set early, but they were cut short by the Tigers getting a kill or a block, holding them within two points till 6-6. After the tie at 6-6, the Raiders posted another attacking error giving DWU their first lead of the set at 7-6. Dakota Wesleyan continued to push that one point to lead to a three-point advantage after a kill by Mackenzie Miller and a service ace from Mariah Gloe. Northwestern held DWU close after losing the lead, but the Tigers were not about to give it up, continuing to force errors by the Raiders and keeping theirs to a minimum. The largest lead by either team was 20-13 off the hand of Miller for the seven-point advantage. That seven-point lead forced NWC to take a timeout as they look for a way to get back in striking distance. The Raiders were able to climb back into the set, but only within three points at 24-21 as the Tigers took a timeout of their own. DWU secured the first set win 25-21 with an attacking error from NWC.
Miller gets Dakota Wesleyan on the board to start the second set off, as the Tigers ran back the previous set with how close it was till the end. The Raiders went on a 3-0 run , pushing their lead to 5-2, but the Tigers weren't going to let them run away that easy, cutting the margin back to one point after kills from Ady Dwight and Gloe. It wasn't until Dannielle Burns stepped back to serve with a tied set, 8-8, that DWU secured their first lead on the set by one point, 9-8. It continued to be a close match, as the Tigers led by one point, then pushed it out to two after Tya Weideman tallied a service ace. Later, with NWC leading by one, 16-15, DWU called for a timeout, their first of the set. Not long after with the Raiders leading by four, 19-15, the Tigers burnt their second timeout of the set. Dakota Wesleyan didn't stop battling through even trailing by four; they climbed back into the set to trail by five points, 24-19 when the Raiders burnt their first timeout of the set. After a 3-0 run by DWU to trail 22-24, Northwestern called for their second timeout of the set. The timeout by NWC was a blessing for the Tigers, because after that, they went on a 5-1 run, forcing the set to go long and digging out the 27-25 set win to lead 2-0 in the match.
The third set was all Northwestern, jumping out to a seven-point lead, 14-7 right away over the Tigers. NWC continued limiting DWU's chances, turning their seven-point advantage into a ten-point advantage. The Raiders forced a fourth set after a 25-12 set three win.
The Raiders got the early lead over the Tigers in the fourth set and never gave it up, despite the attempts from DWU to get the lead. NWC went on several runs throughout the set, that ended up being too much for DWU to handle down the stretch as they fell 25-19 and the match was even at 2-2.
The pivotal fifth and final set… Entering the final set of tonight, the Tigers were 4-2. DWU got the small lead early after a kill by Dwight and a Raider attacking error, 5-3. Shortly after, the Tigers won the race to eight for the final switching of side in the match after Gloe sent home a kill for the 8-6 lead. With a little back and forth, Dakota Wesleyan continued to hold the lead by three, 12-9. The Raiders were able to score three more points in the match, before Dakota Wesleyan won the fifth set, 15-12 for the upset of the conference tournament.
The Tigers hit their best of the night in the fifth set, going for .310 percent with 11 kills and only two errors. Overall, DWU hit .199 percent as a team compared to NWC hitting .259 percent as a team. Miller led the Tigers with 21 kills and a .273 hitting percentage adding four digs and one block to her stats. While Dwight and Gloe each went for 19 kills in the match. Gloe stuffed her stat sheet with one service ace, 20 digs, and one block as well. Madeline Else recorded 61 assists, nine digs and two blocks. Tya Weideman and Callie Slagter each recorded 19 digs in the match, while Weideman posted a pair of service aces.
Up Next
Fifth seed Tigers stay alive and move on in the conference tournament, with the semifinals up next. The semifinal round will take place on Wednesday, November 9 when DWU head north to take on top seed Jamestown. The Tigers and Jimmies will get things underway at 7 p.m. from Newman Arena.