The Briar Cliff women's volleyball team battled #16 Dordt Tuesday but fell 3-1 (25-27, 16-25, 25-15, 26-28) to the Defenders in the Newman Flanagan Center.
"Tonight's match was the best match we have played all season," said head coach
Lindsey Weatherford. "I'm very proud of our whole team for their efforts."
The Cliff took the lead in the last half of set one off a 4-0 run and held a 22-17 lead. The Defenders were able to close the deficit to one at 23-22 forcing a Briar Cliff timeout. The Defenders outscored the Cliff 5-2 after the timeout to take the set 27-25.
Abbie Ericson contributed three kills in the set followed by
Tyra Blue and
Chloe Johnson who both added two.
In set two, the Defenders jumped out to an 18-10 advantage. The Blue and Gold tried to spark some momentum with a two-point swing but were unable to stay within the Defenders dropping set two 25-16.
The third set was the most successful of the night, as the Chargers hit at a .346 clip while limiting the Defenders to a swinging percentage of .065. The Cliff found momentum early racing out to a 17-11 lead. They would outscore Dordt 8-4 in the last half of the set to take match point. Blue led the Cliff this set with four kills with
Sami Wasmund contributing three.
Set four saw back-and-forth action throughout as neither team would hold a lead larger than three points. With the score 20-20, the Cliff went on a two-point swing but gave up the next three points to trail 23-21. The Chargers would tie the match 24-24 but were unable to close out the set as they fell 28-26.
Blue led the Chargers in kills with 12 and assisted in three blocks. Ericson and Johnson put down seven kills apiece and
Jaice Johnsen recorded three service aces.
Sami Wasmund led the team in blocks with four followed by
Toria Andre with three.
"The seniors played very well tonight. Blue had a tremendous match tonight and really was our go to hitter," said Weatherford. "Imrie was our spark on defense and really was in the right position all night long."
Maureen Imrie recorded 17 assists to go with 15 digs.
Madilyn Wagaman recorded 13 assists and 12 digs.
Tannah Heath chipped in 14 digs and had three assists.
The Chargers finish with the 2021 season with a 10-19 overall record and were in 3-13 in GPAC play.
#BattleOn
