The Dordt University volleyball team defeated No.11 College of Saint Mary (Neb.) in a thrilling five-set match played this afternoon at the De Witt Gymnasium in Sioux Center, Iowa.
Highlight - Match Point:
The Defenders earned their second consecutive win and first over a ranked opponent this season. They improve to 2-6 in the GPAC, 3-11 overall. College of Saint Mary falls to 5-3 in the league, 16-4 overall.
Ellie Dokter delivered a team-high 14 kills, including one on match-point, to give the Defenders 17-15 win in the decisive fifth set.
Riley Doenhoefer put away 13 kills and both
Bryleigh Schweer (11 kills) and
Ellie Weg (10 kills) were also in double figures for Head Coach Jackie Smith's squad.
Trailing 12-9 in the fifth set after four consecutive points scored by College of Saint Mary, Schweer and
Kelly McArthur combined to put down a block to give Dordt a point and sideout. An ace by McArthur followed by another block from Schweer and a hitting error by the Flames put the Defenders back in front 13-12. CSM rallied with two consecutive points on kills by Alex Radcliffe and Kamryn Willman to give the Flames match point, leading 14-13. A hitting error by the Flames tied the score at 14, and, tied again at 15, Dordt finished off the 11th-ranked Flames with successive kills from Schweer and Dokter.
Highlight - Double-Block in Set Two:
The entirety of the match was tight with the largest lead by either team being seven points at the end of set one that resulted in a College of Saint Mary 25-18 win.
Dordt overcame an early five-point deficit in earning a 25-21 win in set two. Tied at 21, the Defenders scored the final four points to complete the comeback and tie the match at 1-1. Both Dokter and Doenhoefer contributed kills and McArthur registered an ace serve prior to a block from Schweer and Dokter to complete the win in set two.
The Defenders scored three of the final four points in a 25-23 win in back-and-forth third set that featured five lead changes between the two teams. Tied at 22, Schweer and
Isabella Cumana put down consecutive kills for Dordt, and, following a block by the Flames Kamryn Willman, the Defenders won the set on an attack error by the visitors.
Highlight - Backrow Attack, 3rd Set:
Leading the match 2-1 but trailing in the fourth set 18-14, Dordt turned momentum in their favor with a 4-0 run to tie the set 18-18. The teams exchanged points until, tied for the final time at 22-22, College of Saint Mary scored three of the final four points to get a 25-23 win and force a fifth set.
Dordt hit a season-best .244 for the match and hit better than .200 in all but one of the sets. McArthur and
Sophie Johnson guided the Dordt offense with 32 and 18 assists, respectively.
Makenna Kooima led the backrow play with a match-high 25 digs.
College of Saint Mary hit .225 for the match and was led by the duo of Kamryn Willman (19 kills) and Mackenzie Vitosh (15 kills) who combined for 34 kills and hit better than .400 for the match.
Defender Notes:
- the Defenders turned in several season-bests:
- hitting efficiency (.244)
- total kills (62)
- blocks (15.5)
- this was the third 5-set match played by the Defenders this season (1-2 record)
- Riley Doenhoefer leads the Defenders with nine matches with 10+ kills
- Ellie Dokter has five matches with 10+ kills
- this was the first match the Defenders had four players with 10+ kills this season
- Kelly McArthur put up a career-best 32 assists
- this was the first win for the Defenders vs College of Saint Mary since 2020
- Dordt improved its record to 20-15 all-time vs College of Saint Mary
- five seniors who have been part of the Dordt volleyball program were recognized by Defender Nation prior to the match
