Index of Sports Press Releases

Oct. 21, 2006

Volleyball Splits Weekend Matches

MITCHELL— The Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball team went 1-1 on its very important weekend of volleyball action (Oct. 20-21) at Fosness Arena in Mitchell, S.D. The Tigers lost to Midland Lutheran College, 3-2, on Friday night, but rebounded for a 3-1 victory over Dana College on Saturday during Parent’s Night.

Dakota Wesleyan is now tied with Mount Marty College for the eighth and final spot in the Great Plains Athletic Conference postseason tournament. They have three matches remaining on the season.

On Friday, the Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but they could not put away the Warriors. With scores of 30-32, 26-30, 31-29, 31-29, 19-17, it was a battle for every point of the match. DWU had several opportunites for game and match point, but failed to seal the win. Brittany Kirkey led DWU with 19 kills.

On Saturday, DWU fell behind 1-0 after Dana won the first game 30-26. However, this time the Tigers rallied back and found a way to win.

The Tigers began to control the net and senior Blythe Novotny took over the match. Novotny finished the match with 14 kills and an outstanding .458 hitting percentage. Maria Wieneke had 13 kills, while Kalie Whealy and Kirkey each had 12 kills.

Beth Kopfmann handed out 51 assists, while Cheri Klabenes had 21 digs.

DWU now has a 9-20 overall record and a 4-9 record in the GPAC.

The Tigers face Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa on Wednesday (Oct. 25) in a key match for playoff contention.