Dordt used strong service pressure and balanced attacking to edge Midland in a five-set thriller inside De Witt Gym. For the Defenders it was their first win in the series since 2018.
Box Score (PDF)
The Defenders controlled the opening set from the start, stringing together an 8-0 service run by
Kylie Beckering that featured four aces and kills by
Ellie Dokter and
Haley Kuperus. Dordt's front line, led by
Ellie Weg and Kuperus, converted efficiently as the hosts opened a 15-3 cushion and cruised to a 25-14 win.
Midland turned the momentum in set two. After Dordt built a 22-16 lead on kills from Dokter and Carlson, the Warriors stormed back with a 9-1 closing run, aided by several Dordt attack errors and late kills from Brooklynn Snyder and Abree Plueger to steal the frame 25-23.
The visitors carried that surge into the third, using three service aces and a 6-0 stretch midway through to go ahead 18-13. Dordt trimmed the margin to 23-21 behind two late Kuperus kills, but Snyder sealed the 25-22 result with
her sixth kill of the set.
The fourth was a back-and-forth battle featuring eight ties and five lead changes. Dordt's blocking duo of
Ellie Weg and
Haley Kuperus stuffed key attempts late, and
Laney Wolfswinkel's ace clinched a 25-23 win that forced a decisive fifth set.
In the tiebreaker, Dordt jumped ahead 5-1 with kills by Weg and Wolfswinkel and never trailed. Weg finished the match with back-to-back points—a kill and a block assist—to cap the 15-9 set and secure the conference victory.
THE NUMBERS
- Kills: Dordt 58 | Midland 50
- Kill Efficiency: Dordt .216 | Midland .155
- Digs: Dordt 73 | Midland 59
- Blocks: Dordt 7.0 | Midland 6.0
- Aces: Dordt 16 | Midland 10
Dordt Statistical Leaders
NEXT
Dordt will travel to face Northwestern on Wednesday night, October 22.
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