Dordt came up short in a competitive four-set road match against Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday night, falling 20-25, 20-25, 26-24, 20-25. 

Box Score (PDF)

After DWU opened the night with a 25-20 victory, Dordt found itself trailing early in the second set before stringing together a 6-0 run capped by back-to-back kills from Laney Wolfswinkel and Haley Kuperus to pull even at 12-12. However, DWU's serving and front-row defense kept momentum, taking the set 25-20 and a 2-0 match lead.

The third set turned in Dordt's favor as they jumped to an 11-3 advantage behind balanced hitting and effective blocking. DWU responded to tie the score late, but the Defenders closed strong with kills from Ellie Dokter and Kuperus to win 26-24. In the fourth, Dordt again battled back from an early deficit to tie at 10-10 before a 7-1 DWU surge created separation the Defenders couldn't recover from.

THE NUMBERS

• Kills: DWU 48, Dordt 52

• Aces: DWU 8, Dordt 4

• Hitting Efficiency: DWU .172, Dordt .132

• Blocks: DWU 14.0, Dordt 9.0

DORDT LEADERS

• Kills:

  • Laney Wolfswinkel – 17 kills, .186 efficiency

  • Haley Kuperus – 13 kills, .417 efficiency, 5 blocks

  • Ellie Dokter – 13 kills

• Assists:

  • Carlee Jackson – 45 assists

• Digs:

  • Kylie Beckering – 23 digs

  • Haley Wielenga – 13 digs

  • Maddy Jackson – 13 digs

• Blocks:

  • Ellie Weg – 6 blocks

  • Kuperus – 5 blocks

NEXT

Dordt's regular season concludes with a 19-9 record.  The NAIA National Championship selections will be made public on November 18.