Sioux City, Iowa — The Dordt Defenders will play two volleyball matches on Tuesday, November 30 at the NAIA National Championship. The contests will be part of the 24-team field and are part of the two-day, pool play that opens the event at the final site.
Dordt will play Missouri Baptist at 8:30 Tuesday morning before playing Central Methodist at 3:00.
The Defenders enter play at the final site with an 18-9 record and finished 9-7 in the GPAC and were tied for fifth place in the league. Dordt started the season with a 10-1 record before losing the first of four straight on September 15. The Defenders are 5-2 in their last seven matches and all of their losses are to teams currently rated 22nd or better in the NAIA poll.
The Defenders are averaging 12.4 kills per set with a .198 kill efficiency through 27 matches. Dordt also accounts for 2.39 points per set with blocks and have a 137-105 season ace serves advantage. Teams get 12.25 kills per set against the Defenders and Dordt has limited opponents to .165 kill efficiency this season.
Corrina Timmermans has a team high 3.39 kills per set average with a .194 kill efficiency and she averages 2.37 digs per set and has a team high 36 ace serves. Jessi Franken has a 2.57 kills per set average and 1.06 blocks. Alli Timmermans gets 2.51 kills per set and averages nearly a block per set. Grace Langemeier has lifted her kills per set average to 1.6 while Danielle Vande Voort and Ava Van Soelen are at 1.38 and 1.0 kills per set respectively in Dordt’s six-two offense. Megan Raszler and Campbell Marshall average 6.35 and 4.36 assists per set and Raszler gets to 1.68 digs per contest and has 22 ace serves. Erica Bousema is the leading digger with a 5.29 average and Mia Gamet has a 2.36 average and the two have 21 and 24 ace serves respectively. Makenna Kooima is also getting to 1.83 digs per contest and has 15 ace serves this season.
Central Methodist:
The Eagles are 29-7 this season and finished 16-3 in the Heart of America Conference. Three of Central Methodist’s losses have come to Park and six of the seven losses are to teams at the NAIA final site.
Missouri Baptist:
The Spartans are 28-2 this season and finished the American Midwest Conference with a 9-0 record. Both losses for Missouri Baptist came on August 27 when it lost to Midland in five and was swept by Viterbo. Since then the defending national champion has run off 24 wins in a row and has been pushed to five in a match and it has swept the last eight matches.
The winner of this pool will play at 7:30 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals against the survivors of Pool F which is comprised of Providence, Life and Lindsey Wilson. The semifinals will be played on Friday night and the championship on Saturday, December 4 at 7:00.
