MITCHELL, S.D. — RV Dakota Wesleyan Volleyball hosted the Dordt Defenders in the quarterfinal round of the GPAC Championships.
The Tigers opened the match with the advantage as the offense gave the team momentum early. The offensive effort was led by Lily Ranschau and Evy Knoblock, who both recorded 14 kills apiece. Ranschau also posted a .250 kill percentage on her 44 total attempts, while Knoblock contributed three blocks at the net throughout the contest. The main contributions at the net, however, came from the trio of Emily Dale, Karly VanDerWerff, and Madisyn Grimsrud. Dale led the team with eight blocks, followed by VanDerWerff with six, and Grimsrud ended up recording five of her own. Dale and VanDerWerff both contributed seven kills each to the final tally. After the initial trading of points from both squads, the Tigers would take control of the first set and not look back, quickly securing the frame by a score of 25-20 after snuffing out a final surge from the Defenders. The second set saw a much closer contest in the middle of the frame to keep Dordt competitive, but Dakota Wesleyan found another late surge to secure the second 25-20 set win of the night.
Defensively, the Tigers were led by Elizabeth Tyler, who recorded a team-high 28 digs, and was followed closely by Abigail Zegar, who posted 22 of her own. Tyler also moved up to fifth all-time in DWU Volleyball history on the career digs list with 1,647. The defensive effort led to an efficient counterattack that was led by Kayleigh Hybertson as she recorded 42 assists in four sets, alongside six digs, three kills, and two blocks. The collection of backline players helped the Tigers claw back from a third-set deficit that saw Dordt gain early momentum, unlike the previous two frames. The Defenders ended up securing the third set in extra points by a score of 26-24 despite the comeback effort from DWU. The Tigers and Defenders would be close throughout the first half of the fourth and final set, trading points back-and-forth, until the Tigers once again were able to string together a scoring run that included six-straight points to claim a 23-15 lead late, which was eventually extended to another 25-20 frame win to secure the match win for Dakota Wesleyan. The fourth-seeded Tigers advance to the GPAC Semifinals, which is the first time the team has done so since the 2022 season.
DWU Volleyball will be back in action against the top-seeded Northwestern Red Raiders in the semifinal round of the GPAC Championships. You can get details on the postseason schedule here.