The Charger women's volleyball team took the No.12 Dakota Wesleyan Tigers to four sets Wednesday night at the Newman Flanagan Center, taking the opening set before the Tigers rallied to claim the next three.
Briar Cliff opened the match with a strong first-set performance. The Tigers took an early 4-3 lead, but the Chargers answered with a 5-0 run to take an 8-4 advantage. BCU continued to control the set, extending its advantage to 18-10. DWU battled back late, cutting the deficit to four, but the Chargers held on to take the opening set 25-21.
The Tigers responded in the second set, building an early 6-2 advantage. Briar Cliff steadily worked its way back, eventually cutting the deficit to 15-14 after a three-point run. The Chargers continued to battle and pulled within one at 22-21, but Dakota Wesleyan scored the final three points to even the match with a 25-21second-set win.
The third set proved to be the tightest of the night. Neither team could establish much separation, with the score tied at 8-8, 9-9, and 10-10 before the Tigers gradually built a lead. Briar Cliff fought back from a 20-17 deficit to tie the set at 20-20 and later erased a 24-22 deficit to force extra points. After the Chargers tied the set at 24-24, DWU scored the final two points to take the frame 26-24.
Briar Cliff came out strong in the fourth set, opening with four straight points and later taking a 9-5 lead. Dakota Wesleyan answered with a 6-0 run to move ahead 11-10, then extended its lead throughout the remainder of the set. The Tigers closed out the match with a 25-16 fourth-set victory.
Aliyah Basham led the Charger offense with 11 Kills, hitting .321, while
Caton Firkins added 10 kills with a .300 hitting percentage.
Emma Brenelli contributed nine kills, and
Alexis Even finished with eight.
Mia Torchia and
Reese Strouth each recorded 20 assists to help guide the Charger attack. Three Chargers finished with 13 digs apiece:
Trinity Uhrmacher,
Korbin Olorndami, and
Joana Neves.
Ireland Jackson also tallied 12. At the net,
Aubrey Hoeft led Briar Cliff with five block assists, while Basham added three block assists.
The Chargers return to action Wednesday, September 23, traveling across town to take on the No. 14-ranked Morningside Mustangs. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m.
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