THE WEEKEND

Dordt will play four matches this weekend at an event hosted by the College of Saint Mary in North Sioux City, South Dakota. The Defenders are scheduled to face Rocky Mountain (Montana), Dakota State (South Dakota), Saint Francis (Indiana) and Park (Missouri).

THE SCHEDULE

Friday, September 2, 1:00 PM vs Rocky Mountain
Friday, September 2, 5:00 PM vs Dakota State
Saturday, September 3, 9:00 AM vs Saint Francis
Saturday, September 3, 3:00 PM vs Park

THE OPPONENTS

Rocky Mountain started the season with a loss to Midland, who is now rated no. 2 in the nation, and has won four straight since with wins over Dickinson State, Cornerstone, Northwest and Dickinson State. Rocky Mountain is also scheduled to compete against Northwestern, Jamestown and Midland this weekend.

Bella Bryan and Makenna Bushman average 2.67 and 2.61 kills per set respectively and Kyra Oakland is averaging 2.5 kills per outing.  All three are hovering around the .200 mark for kill efficiency.   Blythe Sealey is averaging 10.1 assists per set and Ayla Ambry is good for 6.17 digs per outing.  The Grizzlies have a 12.2-11.2 kills per set advantage and opponents have a 26-23 service advantage.

Dakota State is 4-2 this season with losses to Loyola and MidAmerica Nazarene and the Trojans also have a win over Doane on their resume. Dakota State is playing a GPAC heavy schedule this weekend too with matches against Northwestern, Concordia and Hastings.

Sydney Schell leads the team with a 3.86 kills per set average and a .240 kill efficiency and Hannah Viet is good for 2.68 kills per outing. Madalyn Groft averages 2.08 kills and 6.9 assists and Maddi Langerock is averaging 6.1 assists per outing. Groft does a a little over everything and also gets to 2.9 digs per outing while Peyton Groft leads the team with a 4.45 average.   The Trojans are making the most of their defense at the net with a 2.1-1.3 points on blocks edge.

Saint Francis enters with a 6-2 record with losses to The Master's and Mount Mercy.  The College of Saint Mary, Hastings and Morningside will also meet the Cougars on Friday and Saturday.

Paige Fortkamp is good for 2.93 kills per outing and Haidyn Carrico is at 1.9 kills. Saint Francis relies heavily o the ace serve with a 51-36 advantage so far  this season.  Eliana Serdynski leads the team with nearly a block per set and Maile Steckelberg is good for 4.28 digs per outing  to top the team.

Park is 3-0 this season with many new faces making up the lineup. Debora Bernardi and Maria Eduarda Ramos each average 3.0 kills per outing and Malaina Hensley is at 2.45 with 4.0 digs. Bernardi leads the defense at the net with a 1.0 average.

THE DEFENDERS

Dordt went 2-2 last weekend with a pair of tight wins on Friday, a 3-1 loss to Corban and a 3-0 loss to Vanguard as the toll of four matches in two days became quite steep.

Dordt is averaging 11.2 kills per set and allow 12.5.  Teams also have a 43-17 ace serves advantage against Dordt but the Defenders are getting 3.3 points per set on blocks while allowing 1.6.

Corrina Timmermans averages a team high 3.1 kills per set and Alli Timmermans is at 1.8. Avey Amelse averaged 1.7 kills in her first collegiate play and Grace Langemeier put down 1.56 kills per set from the right side.  Brenna Krommendyk and Ellie Voss each put down 1.5 kills per set with Voss holding a .300 kill efficiency.  Makenna Kooima leads the team with 5.5 digs per set while Corrina Timmermans is at 2.88 and Krommendyk, Langemeier and Voss all average more than one block per set.

HISTORY

The Defenders are 1-2 against Rocky Mountain in the last five seasons with the win coming at Lacrosse, Wisconsin last season 3-0.

Dordt and Dakota State have played just once in the last five seasons with Dordt prevailing in Orange City in 2017 by a 3-0 score.

Dordt and Saint Francis haven't played in the last five years.

Dordt and Park have split their last two meetings with Dordt taking a 3-2 decision at the National Championship in pool play in April, 2021. 

NEXT

Dordt dives into conference play with a pair of matches this week.  Wednesday night, September 7 the Defenders host Dakota Wesleyan and on Saturday afternoon Dordt will travel to Orange City, Iowa for a 5:00 varsity match with Northwestern.