ORANGE CITY, Iowa — No. 25 Dakota Wesleyan traveled to Iowa to take on the top-seeded and third-ranked Northwestern Red Raiders in the semifinal round of the GPAC Playoffs.
The Tigers started the first set with the advantage as the offense got out to a solid start thanks to Emily Dale and Evy Knoblock, who led the team with eight kills apiece in three sets. The early 8-6 lead for Dakota Wesleyan was undone by a seven-point run by the Red Raiders to take control of the match. The Tigers were able to put up a fight as Northwestern pushed the lead towards 25, but ultimately, the Red Raiders took set one by a score of 25-17. The late run in the set for the Tigers was spurred by Karly VanDerWerff, who posted seven kills.
Defensively, Elizabeth Tyler and Presly Pastian would combine for 30 digs, but the effort on the backline was not entirely able to stop the Red Raider attack. The second set saw the Tigers battle back, but another run of points from NWC pushed them through the middle of the set to get ahead, and they would take a 2-0 lead on the Tigers after a 25-18 frame win.
Dakota Wesleyan and Northwestern would continue their back-and-forth in the beginning of the third set like the previous two, but the Tigers stuck around for much longer, keeping the match tied at 20-20 as the frame came to a close. A stout effort from Kayleigh Hybertson, which saw her record 29 assists and six digs, gave the Tiger offense the momentum it needed to stage a late run, but another momentum swing back in the direction of Northwestern put the Tigers at a disadvantage late, setting up the 3-0 match win for the Red Raiders following a 25-21 set win.
A handful of other DWU players were involved in keeping the contest competitive, including a four-kill effort from Keatyn Liebsack and contributions from Madisyn Grimsrud, Abigail Zegar, and Carlee Laubach. Still, it was not enough to get the Tigers out in front of the Red Raiders.
DWU Volleyball awaits a potential National Tournament when the NAIA Selection Show airs this coming Monday at 4:00 PM.