Block Party: Volleyball Tops Dakota Wesleyan Behind 15 Blocks
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dakota Wesleyan (SD) (8-13, 3-7) | 27 | 16 | 25 | 20 | 13 | 2 |
|
Doane (NE) (7-15, 3-7) | 25 | 25 | 13 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
Volleyball capped off a crucial weekend at home by hosting Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday. The Tigers took a big step for extending their season by rallying for a five-set victory over DWU. The weekend sweep of Waldorf and Dakota Wesleyan moved the Tigers into a tie with both teams in the conference standings for ninth and gave them the head-to-head tie-breaker should it become a factor at the end of the year. Doane now sits a game outside of the Top 8 which earn a GPAC Tournament bid.
Doane fell behind in the match, 2-1, with DWU winning the opening set, 27-25, and the third set, 25-13. The host Tigers won set two, 25-16.
In the fourth set, Doane walked away with the victory 25-20 by taking seven of the final eight points. In the fifth set, Doane fell behind, 8-3, as the teams switched sides of the net. Behind a 5-2 run, Doane was back within two points as they trailed 10-8. Another 5-2 run would give Doane their first lead of the set, 13-12. Dakota Wesleyan tied the game at 13-all but Doane closed out the match with back-to-back kills from Kayden Schumacher and Natalie Wood.
Wood led the Tigers with 18 kills followed by Schumacher with 13. Taylor Sluka and Kate Roseland added 11 kills apiece with Hilary Hupp posting a career-high 10 kills. Camdyn Carpenter dished out 55 assists, a season-high and three away from her career-best mark.
Defensively, Doane posted 15.0 total blocks while Dakota Wesleyan recorded 14.5 blocks. Roseland led the way with a career-high eight total blocks. Hupp had a career-high seven total blocks and Sluka was in on a season-high six total blocks. Carpenter was in on a career-high five total blocks.
Grace Zeier posted 26 digs and Carpenter finished with 21. Doane had 115 digs in the match. Lillian Parolek added 14 digs while Mackenzie Painter and Chloe Rose added 13 digs apiece.
Doane will go out of conference to renew a rivalry in their next outing on Friday, October 18. The Tigers will travel to Lincoln to take on Nebraska Wesleyan at 6 PM.