The Dordt Defender men's volleyball team rallied from an opening set loss and claimed the third set late but ultimately fell to Mount Mercy in four sets (16-25, 25-27, 25-21, 18-25) in Heart of America Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon in Cedar Rapids.
Box Score (PDF)
Mount Mercy used an early surge in the opening set to seize control. Dordt kept the set close early, getting kills from
Lance Vermeer and
Joel Van Groningen to trim the deficit to 9-11. After a block by Van Groningen and
Cory Kuperus and an attack error pulled Dordt within 13-18, Mount Mercy answered with a decisive 7-3 run fueled by multiple kills from Guglielmo Illotti and Curdin Acklin along with a late service ace by Richard Struska to close out the 25-16 win.
The second set featured 14 ties and six lead changes and was Dordt's best opportunity to even the match. Dordt built an early 5-3 advantage as
Cade Schmidt and
Cory Kuperus finished kills and combined for a block. Mount Mercy answered and eventually took a 17-15 lead before Dordt responded with a 5-1 run.
Cade Schmidt delivered a service ace, Vermeer and Schmidt combined for a block, and Mount Mercy committed two attack errors to give Dordt a 20-18 lead. The teams traded points down the stretch, and Dordt held set point at 25-24 after a Mount Mercy service error. However, Mount Mercy scored the final three points, capitalizing on a Dordt attack error and finishing with a block to secure the 27-25 win and a 2-0 match lead.
Dordt responded with its strongest stretch of volleyball in the third set, using aggressive serving and timely blocking to seize momentum. After falling behind 18-15 following a service ace and kill by Mount Mercy, Dordt rallied with a decisive 10-3 run to close the set.
Justin Hofman set up back-to-back kills by
Joel Van Groningen to give Dordt a 19-18 lead.
Nicodemus Elliott added a kill to extend the margin, and
Colt Schmidt delivered a service ace for a 22-21 advantage.
Cade Schmidt then finished a transition kill before Van Groningen, Vermeer, and Elliott combined for a triple block on set point to secure the 25-21 win and force a fourth set.
Mount Mercy regained control early in the fourth set with a decisive serving run. After Dordt tied the score at 2-2 on a kill by
Nicodemus Elliott, Mount Mercy scored six of the next seven points, highlighted by consecutive service aces from Struska and another ace by Illotti to build an 8-4 lead. Dordt responded with kills from Van Groningen and
Kai Chapman and a block by Vermeer and Chapman to trim the deficit to 12-8. Dordt later pulled within 16-13 following a Van Groningen kill and Mount Mercy service error, but Mount Mercy answered with a 6-2 run fueled by kills from Illotti and Pere Font Torres to extend the lead to 22-17. Illotti closed out the match with a kill and Struska added a service ace to secure the 25-18 win.
Van Groningen led Dordt offensively throughout the match, delivering kills in all four sets and contributing key points during Dordt's third-set rally.
Team Comparison
Kills: Dordt 47/Mount Mercy 62
Attack Percentage: Dordt .227/Mount Mercy .326
Assists: Dordt 46/Mount Mercy 58
Service Aces: Dordt 3/Mount Mercy 7
Blocks: Dordt 9.0/Mount Mercy 8.0
Digs: Dordt 46/Mount Mercy 49
Dordt Individual Leaders
Kills:
Joel Van Groningen 19,
Cade Schmidt 10,
Lance Vermeer 8,
Nicodemus Elliott 5
Assists:
Justin Hofman 21,
Joseph Jang 18
Digs:
Colt Schmidt 15,
Cade Schmidt 12,
Joel Van Groningen 8
Blocks:
Lance Vermeer 6,
Cory Kuperus 3,
Nicodemus Elliott 3
Service Aces:
Joel Van Groningen 1,
Cade Schmidt 1,
Colt Schmidt 1
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