MITCHELL, S.D. — RV Dakota Wesleyan Volleyball faced the Morningside Mustangs in a GPAC clash in the CFAC.
The Mustangs opened the contest with the momentum, jumping out to an 11-4 lead in the first set to get an advantage that they kept all the way through. The Tigers found resistance in an efficient offensive attack, spearheaded by Lily Ranschau, who led the team with 16 kills in total. Evy Knoblock followed closely behind with 13 of her own, with both her and Ranschau finding crucial points down the stretch. In the first set, however, the Mustangs' sustained offensive success earned them a 25-13 frame victory over the Tigers. After the initial set loss, the Tigers settled into the contest and got to work, piecing together plenty of scoring runs to swing momentum back into their own favor. The offense was aided by the efforts of Karly VanDerWerff, who tabbed seven kills on the night, while Emily Dale and Madisyn Grimsrud stayed busy at the net, registering three blocks each. A steady stream of points in the middle of the second set tied the match back up at 1-1 with a frame score of 25-20 in favor of the Tigers.
Reigning GPAC Players-of-the-Week, Elizabeth Tyler and Kayleigh Hybertson, lived up to their weekly awards with their performances through four sets. Tyler led the match in digs with 35, while Hybertson contributed 38 assists to the offensive effort, which helped the Tigers carry momentum into the third set to take control of the match. Dakota Wesleyan kept itself at an arm's length from Morningside throughout set three, cruising to a 25-19 win in the process, with defensive contributions from Abigail Zegar and Presly Pastian keeping the Mustang offense at bay. Morningside got the upper hand in set four to try to force a fifth, but a steady climb back from Dakota Wesleyan eventually escalated into a six-point run that saw the Tigers force match-point. The Mustangs would score one more point, but a kill from Knoblock sealed the win for Dakota Wesleyan, 3-1.
DWU Volleyball will faced the fourth-ranked Concordia Bulldogs on Saturday, October 18th, at 3:00 PM. See the full 2025 schedule here.