SCORE
Dordt def. Morningside 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Dordt Defender volleyball team won its third straight match and earned the runner-up spot in the Great Plains Athletic Conference final standings with a 3-1 win over Morningside in Sioux Center on Saturday afternoon, April 6.
Dordt trailed 6-3 in set one but battled back to tie the set at 6-6 on an attack error. Ties ensued at every point until 14-14 when
Andres Guzman recorded a kill and Morningside had an attack error. Dordt got up by as much as 20-15 only to see the visitors trim the lead down to 21-19. The two point difference is as close as Morningside would get before Dordt won 25-21 on a
Cade Schmidt kill.
Morningside controlled set two and had a 22-16 lead before Dordt rallied to within 22-19 after a
Robert Piekarz ace. Morningside maintained at least a three-point lead the rest of the
set to tie the match 1-1. Dordt recovered to lead early in set three 6-2 after a Guzman kill but the Mustangs responded. Eventually the visitors took the lead at 13-12 and the teams were never separated by more than a point up to a 19-18 Mustang lead. A Morningside service error followed by an attack error put Dordt up and the Defenders never trailed again. Guzman punctuated the win with a block for a 25-21 win.
Dordt's momentum continued into the fourth set with an 8-4 lead. Dordt maintained at least a two-point lead and expanded the difference to 21-14 with a Guzman kill and a Morningside attack error. Dordt eventually won the set 25-21 and will be the second seed in the post-season tournament which begins on Saturday, April 13.
THE NUMBERS
- Morningside had a 56-47 kills advantage and a .231 - .218 kill efficiency edge.
- Morningside had 22 attack errors to 18 for Dordt.
- Dordt had a 6-4 service aces edge and committed 10 service errors to 21 for Morningside.
- Dordt finishes the regular season 9-10 overall and 7-3 in the league. Morningside is 6-4 and 15-15 overall.
- Dordt Leaders
- Morningside Leaders
- Natan Alves: 19 kills  | 13 digs
- Kirby Schmalz: 17 kills
- Jacob De Pauw: 42 assists | 10 digs
NEXT
Dordt will play the winner of Morningside-Central Christian on Friday, April 19 in the GPAC Semifinals.
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