No. 18 Warriors Begin Postseason with Win over No. 12 Dordt

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – No. 18 Midland University returned to the court after a 134-day hiatus to take on No. 12 Dordt University in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday evening. The Warriors came away with a 3-1 win in front of a rowdy Defender crowd to advance to the GPAC Tournament Semifinal match on Wednesday, April 7.
Midland improves to 11-8 on the year while Dordt drops to 14-6 overall. The Warriors are 2-0 against Dordt this season after a commanding 3-0 win at home on October 10.
Midland hit .176 as a team compared to .205 for Dordt. The Warriors held a slight edge in digs with 44 to the Defenders’ 43. Dordt was elite in the blocking category with 15 total blocks versus six for Midland. Senior Maggie Hiatt led all players with 18 kills on 33 swings (.394) while junior Taliyah Flores followed with 17 kills, including the game-winner. Sophomore Hope Leimbach dished out 45 assists and senior libero Jaisa Russell came away with 13 digs.
Set One: The score was close early in the set as the teams were tied six times before Midland hit the 10-point mark. From there, the Warriors pulled ahead 12-9 off a block from Lauryn Samuelson and Hiatt. Dordt came back to tie the set at 14-14, but the Warriors shot ahead thanks to a 6-1 scoring run to take a 22-16 lead. Dordt took a timeout to pause the Midland charge, but a pair of kills from Hiatt gave the Warriors set point. Leimbach picked up her first kill of the night to seal the deal on the opening set, giving her team the 25-21 win. Hiatt was a perfect 6-for-6 in the set. The Warriors hit .308 in the opening set while holding the defenders to a .103 clip.
Set Two: The teams were neck-and-neck in the early goings, but a kill from Morehouse ended a long rally with Midland ahead 5-4. The Warriors were the first to double-digits, taking a 10-7 advantage off a crafty shot from Fredrickson. The defense on both sides of the net was enough to get the crowd involved, and a block from Hiatt and Samuelson gave Midland’s side something to cheer about as the lead grew to 16-12. The Defenders hit right back with a statement block to pull within a pair. Momentum started to swing in Midland’s way, and Sydney Morehouse took advantage of the surge to pick up a solo block, bringing the lead to 22-18. Midland closed out the set in 25-22 fashion behind Hiatt’s 10^th kill of the evening.
Set Three: Dordt got out to an early lead in the third before an ace from Simon tied things at 2-2. Morehouse sent one straight down in a one-on-one opportunity to bring Midland’s lead to 6-4. The Defenders came roaring back to tie the score at 9-9, but a service error gave the lead back to the Warriors. Service errors by Dordt kept Midland in the set as the score moved to 13-13 off a Defender misfire. Hiatt found another kill when she split the block, tying the score at 16-16. Midland was forced to call a timeout, down 22-20, but the team responded with two straight points to tie the score again. Despite some all-out defensive plays by the Warriors, the Defenders took set three by a score of 26-24.
Set Four: The Warriors got up early, but a 4-0 run gave Dordt an 8-5 edge to force a Midland timeout. Tough serving by the Warriors got the team back in the game, tying the score at 9-9. The score remained close through the middle of the set as Midland would not lead by more than three at any point. Midland didn’t let up despite not having much breathing room, and back-to-back kills from Flores secured the match with a 25-21 final score.
“Tonight’s match showcased high-level volleyball from two great teams,” commented head coach Paul Giesselmann. “I’m really proud of the fight that we showed from start to finish.”
Midland (11-8) will travel to face the tournament’s No. 1-seed in Jamestown University on Wednesday, April 7. Jamestown is also top team in the NAIA Women’s Volleyball Top-25 Coaches’ Poll with an overall record of 24-1. Midland had the Jimmies on the ropes in the regular season, narrowly falling in a four-set nail biter on the road.