FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University picked up an impressive homecoming win as they topped Dordt University in three sets (25-19, 25-12, 25-22) on Saturday evening inside Wikert Event Center. The win moves Midland to 3-5 on the year with a 2-4 mark in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) action.
The Warriors were efficient all night as they hit .327 for the match. Serving and passing was the difference-maker in the match as Midland out-dug Dordt 45-27. Tough serving by Midland kept the Defenders out of system for much of the night. Midland had seven service aces to just five errors while Dordt had one ace and six errors.
Junior Taliyah Flores led the team with 14 kills on 25 swings while senior Maggie Hiatt followed with 13 kills. Junior Brooke Fredrickson was effective on the outside with nine kills on 13 attempts. Sophomore Hope Leimbach was effective in spreading the offense and dished out 42 assists. Senior Jaisa Russell led the squad with 17 digs.
In the opening set Midland was the first to 20-points as a 20-14 lead forced a Dordt timeout. Late errors by the Warriors brought the Defenders back within four, but three kills by Hiatt wrapped up the first set in 25-19 fashion. Flores and Hiatt each put away five kills in the set while Russell came away with eight digs. The teams were closely matched in hitting percentage with Midland holding the .233 to .212 edge.
Efficiency was the name of the game early in the second set as multiple Warriors were finding success offensively. A pair of thunderous kills from Flores and Morehouse were followed by a crafty dump by Leimbach. Leimbach’s kill would extend Midland’s lead to 8-3 and force a Dordt timeout. The Warriors would go up 16-7 after tough service by Kaitlin Simon created one too many overpass opportunities for the Midland to capitalize on. The Warriors continued to play scrappy defense as another sneaky kill from Leimbach ended a lengthy rally to put Midland up 21-12. A pair of miscues by the Defenders gave Midland set-point, and a kill from Samuelson sealed the deal with a 25-12 set victory. Midland hit a blister .429 in the second set and held the Defenders to a .160 clip.
A Defender ace narrowed the Midland lead to 7-6 in the third set, but a blistering kill from Hiatt brought the lead to 8-6. Moments later back-to-back kills from Hiatt extended the lead to 11-8. The run would continue for Midland as a kill from Hiatt saw Midland up 15-8. Dordt would enjoy a run of their own to pull within three, but a kill from Flores halted the momentum to maintain a 17-13 lead. The Defenders would not go down without a fight and forced a Midland timeout as the Warrior lead narrowed to 18-16. Midland came out of the timeout with a pair of points to regain a healthy lead. The teams would trade points down the stretch, but Midland never let up the lead and earned a 25-22 win.
“We needed this win. We haven’t been consistent as a team this year,” stated head coach Paul Giesselmann after the match. “We had our best practice of the year last night [Friday]. After the loss at Dakota Wesleyan, we took it personally. We looked at each other and said we’ve got to do our job better. We’ve got to play at a high level consistently.”
“We found a way to do that today. In the third set in particular, both teams were playing up to their reputation of Top 20 volleyball.”
Midland (3-5, 2-4 GPAC) remains home as they host the College of Saint Mary this coming Tuesday evening. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Wikert Event Center. CSM is 7-2 on the year and 2-2 in the GPAC after a straight-set loss to Jamestown on Saturday night.
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