Miscues Lead to Loss for No. 10 Warriors Against (RV) Dakota Wesleyan

FREMONT, Neb. – Looking to build some momentum as the conference season moves to the second half, No. 10 Midland University hosted (RV) Dakota Wesleyan University on Friday night in a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) showdown. The Warriors, who entered with a one-game ahead in the standings, fell to the Tigers in their rematch from last year's NAIA National Championship quarterfinal match in four sets (21-25, 25-20, 28-30, 24-26). The loss pulls the teams even in the GPAC standings at 5-4 while Midland moves to 9-8 overall and DWU goes to 15-10.

The Tigers took control of the opening set early as they built a 7-3 lead which led to a timeout from the home bench. Midland battled back and pulled even at 15-15 thanks in part to a pair of 3-0 runs. After the tie-up, the teams traded points with ties at each of the next three points.

Three straight points by Dakota Wesleyan broke the tie and gave them some separation. Despite the Warriors earning a few points down the stretch, that gap was enough for the Tigers to take the first set, 25-21.

In the second, it was Midland who went on a roll. With the hot hand of Addy Mosier on the service line, they went on an eight-point run to break an 8-8 tie. DWU wasn't going to back down though as they began to chip away. Trailing 21-12, the Tigers went on a 6-0 run to pull back within three, 21-18.

A kill by Jacki Apel ended the run. Following a side out and a service error by the visitors, Midland was able to even the match with a kill from Lauren Williams followed by an attack error by DWU, 25-20.

In the third set, both teams were vying for the all-important win that would put the other on the brink. The Tigers were the first out of the gate as they moved in front 6-1. The gap would tighten quickly as a 5-0 run by the Warriors put them in front 16-14 at the midway point.

After ties at each point from 16 to 20, Midland went on a quick three-point run to put them in control. Sitting on set point at 24-21, things began to teeter back towards the Tigers. Two points by DWU forced a timeout from MU. A third-straight point tied the set as extras were needed.

Try as they might, the Warriors were never able to get the clinching point as errors began to mount. With the game knotted a 27-27, service errors by both sides extended the set further. DWU got a big block to put them on set point for the second time. After a return attack from the Tigers, the Warriors were unable to recover and were called for four touches as DWU took the set, 30-28.

The intensity of the third set continued in the fourth as the teams continued their back-and-forth play. Dakota Wesleyan took an early 6-3 lead only to see Midland battle back to tie it at 11-11. After four more ties, the teams were deadlocked at 17-17.

The Warriors fell behind by two but once more climbed even at 24-24, forcing extra points. Unlike the third though, the Tigers were able to take the next two highly-contested points to seal the match, 26-24.

"This was a disappointing loss as we held them to a .091 hitting percentage while also limiting their All-American [Dwight] to just six kills in the final three sets," commented head coach Paul Giesselmann. "We had 69 kills and 16 blocks in a four-set match and we still came up short because of too many serving and hitting errors. That's on me as a coach. I have to figure out a better way for this team to trust in themselves and not make as many unforced errors."

The Warriors had a balanced attack with four players with double-digit kills on the night. Leading the way was Cortlyn Schaefer with a season-high 14. Next were Abbey Ringler with 13, Lauryn Samuelson with 12, and Lauren Williams with 11.

Brielle Power and Brena Mackling were even with 30 assists each as they spread the attacks across the Warriors' hitters.

Defensively, Delanie Vallinch had 23 digs in the back row while Kailyn Scott finished with 22. Joining them in double figures was Saige Craven with 11 while Mackling was one dig shy of a double-double with 9.

At the net, the Warriors' 16 blocks were one shy of their season high. Jacki Apel had a hand in on nearly half with 7 block assists to lead the team. Ringler finished with a half-dozen.

Overall, the Warriors' miscues at the service line (17 errors) and on the attack (41 errors) were costly as they both were the most by the team this season.

Midland (9-8, 5-4 GPAC) will look to redeem itself and put the loss in the rearview mirror on Saturday when they host defending national champion and No. 14-ranked Jamestown (15-6, 8-1 GPAC). The first serve between the two teams that met in last year's NAIA National Championship semifinals is set for 3:30 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center in Fremont.