Sioux City, Iowa — The Dordt Defender volleyball team will play two matches at the NAIA National Championship Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa, on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 27 and 28. The Defenders will face Bellevue on April 27 at 3:00 pm and will play Park on April 28 at 10:30 am.
Bellevue enters play with a 17-5 overall mark and a 12-2 record in the North Star Athletic Association. The Bruins were 4-1 in 2020 before taking a four month hiatus from competition. Bellevue picked up play on February 13 and proceeded to go 13-4. Two of the losses were to Viterbo and another was in league play to Mayville State.
The Bruins are topped by Eve Fountain’s 3.72 kills per set average and a .275 kill percentage. Sierra Athen has a 2.79 kills per set average to go with 2.89 digs per contest. Jacki Apel is averaging 2.41 kills and Coree Lipovsky is good for 2.01 kills. Olivia Galas accounts for 11.29 assists per set and she averages 2.72 digs. Anna Koehler is the top digger with a 4.46 average and she ahs 15 ace serves. Fountain has a 3.31 digs per set average and leads the team in aces with 28.
Bellevue has a 13.84-10.4 kills per set advantage and have a team kill efficiency of .231. The Bruins get 1.91 points per set on blocks and 1.22 on ace serves.
Park is 20-3 this season and finished the Heart of America Conference play with a 12-0 mark. The Pirates lost to Rockhurst, Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri State.
Nada Meawad is the team leader in kills with a 5.57 average and Noura Meawad is good for 3.05. Nada has a .316 kill efficiency and Noura has ,229 success at the net. Amanda Mendes is the leader in assists with an 11.21 per set average and she also gets to 2.44 digs per outing. The Pirates are led in digs by Noura Meawad’s 3.37 average and she also has a team high 42 ace serves.
Park is averaging 14.0 kills per set with a .235 kill efficiency and opponents are at 11.13 kills per outing with a .162 kill efficiency. Park is averaging 2.0 ace serves and 1.89 blocks per outing as well.
The Defenders are 15-6 overall and 11-5 in the league and won eight straight matches spanning the end of the 2020 portion of the schedule and the start of the 2021 semester.
Dordt is averaging 13.28 kills per set with a .243 kill efficiency and has a 84-65 ace serves edge. The Defenders also record 2.67 points per set on blocks while allowing 12.07 kills per set with 1.45 blocks against per outing.
Jessi De Jager is averaging 2.76 kills per set and Brenna Krommendyk’s average is 2.51. Krommendyk has a .402 kill efficiency De Jager is at .302. Krommendyk’s block average is 1.31 per outing while Alli Timmermans lifted her kill average to 2.48 as well and has a .349 kill efficiency. Corrina Timmermans is averaging 2.34 kills per set in a very balanced Dordt attack.
Hannah Connelly tops the Defenders with a 4.97 digs per set average and Corrina Timmermans is at 2.34 digs. Megan Raszler puts up 6.96 assists per set and Corina Beimers is averaging 4.72.
Dordt is 1-1 against Park and last played the Pirates in 2019. Dordt leads the series with Bellevue 12-5 and last played the Bruins on October 30, 2018 when Dordt won a 29-27, 25-11, 25-20 decision behind 14 kills by Leah Kamp and 13 by Ema Altena.
The match with Park in 2019 was part of a classic hosted by the Pirates in Parkville. Park won the first two sets 25-22, 25-19 and Dordt took set three 25-20 before the hosts won set four 25-16.
The top finisher in the pool advances to quarterfinal round play on Thursday, April 29. The semifinals and finals are scheduled for Friday and Saturday to bring the event to a close.
