Sioux Center, Iowa — No.16 Dordt’s upset bid came up short as the Defenders fell to No.5 Midland in a thrilling five-set match, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-27 and 15-13.
The loss drops Dordt into a three-way tie for fifth place in the current GPAC standings at 8-7, 16-8 overall. They are tied with Concordia and Northwestern, all with one match left to play in the regular season.
Alli Timmermans put away 12 kills in 34 attempts to go with 3.5 blocks to lead the Defenders. Jessi Franken was also in double figures with 10 kills and totaled seven blocks. Corrina Timmermans was one kill shy of another double-double, contributing nine successful attacks to go with 14 digs.
Set One:
Back-to-back kills from Alli Timmermans sparked a 4-0 Defenders run as the hosts went up 14-10. Midland rallied late, tying the set at 21, only to have Dordt score four of the next five points to win set one.
Set Two:
Tied at 19 late in the second, Midland scored four straight points, finished off with an ace serve from Jessie Moss, en route to a 25-22 win.
Set Three:
Dordt started fast in set three, racing out to a 5-1 lead. Midland rallied to tie the set at 11, and with the score tied again at 15, the Warriors rode the attack of Taliyah Flores to outscore Dordt 5-1 to take control and get a 25-19 win.
Set Four:
Down by four early, Dordt fought back to tie the score, 14-14, on a kill from Ava Van Soelen and blocks by Van Soelen and Danielle Vande Voort. Midland and Dordt traded points, until a 4-1 surge put the hosts in front 23-20 after a Midland error. The Warriors came back to tie it at 23 and the set was tied at 24 and 25; a Midland service error gave Dordt a one point advantage and Alli Timmermans blasted a kill down to give the Defenders the win.
Set Five:
An early 5-2 Defenders lead was erased by Midland, who outscored the hosts 9-1 to take an 11-6 advantage. Still down by five (12-7), Dordt made one final charge back, cutting the Midland lead down to 14-13 after kills by Alli Timmermans and Vande Voort. Midland, however, won the final point on a kill by Brooke Fredrickson.
The Defenders will close the regular season at Briar Cliff on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
