August 22, 2026
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) opened with a tight first-set victory Saturday late afternoon, but Dordt (Iowa) answered by winning the next three sets to defeat the Trojans 3-1 in the Siouxland Invitational at the CNOS Fieldhouse.
Dakota State fell to 3-2 overall. DU, a member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, improved to 3-1 overall with the 23-25, 25-21, 25-17 and 25-21 victory.
How it happened
The opening set featured numerous ties before Dakota State gained some separation late. The Trojans broke a 16-16 tie with three straight points, highlighted by a block from
Macey Wathen.
Dordt rallied from a 23-20 deficit to tie the set at 23-23. Dakota State responded as
Kaedyn Sapp delivered back-to-back kills to close out the 25-23 victory and give the Trojans a 1-0 match lead.
The second set was another back-and-forth battle. Dakota State erased an early deficit and took a 17-16 lead before Dordt responded. The set was tied at 18-18 and again at 20-20 before the Defenders finished with five of the final six points. Haley Kuperus closed the set with a kill for Dordt's 25-21 victory, evening the match at one set apiece.
Dordt carried the momentum into the third set, opening an early advantage and maintaining the lead throughout. The Defenders stretched their margin to 19-13 and eventually closed the set with consecutive Kuperus kills for a 25-17 victory and a 2-1 match lead.
The Defenders built a 14-8 advantage in the fourth set before the Trojans mounted a comeback.
Emily Nelson served consecutive aces as Dakota State scored four straight points to trim Dordt's lead to 14-12.
Dordt answered with another run to rebuild its advantage. Dakota State continued to battle and eventually pulled within 22-19 before the Defenders finished off the 25-21 set victory to secure the match.
Inside the box score
Dordt held a 60-36 advantage in kills and hit .184 for the match, committing 32 attack errors on 152 swings. Dakota State finished with a .142 hitting percentage, recording 36 kills and 18 errors in 127 attacks.
The Defenders collected 58 assists compared to 35 for the Trojans. Dordt also held a 10-4 advantage in service aces and a 62-50 edge in digs.
Dakota State held the advantage at the net, finishing with nine total blocks compared to seven by Dordt. The Trojans registered four solo blocks and 10 block assists.
Sapp led Dakota State's offense with nine kills on 31 swings.
Tristyn Maras added seven kills, while
Rylee Thompson finished with five kills and hit .214. Wathen,
Lauryn Kloth and
Raya Van Beek each contributed four kills.
Kloth anchored the Trojans' blocking effort with three solo blocks and one block assist. Wathen added one solo block and two block assists, while Maras registered three block assists.
Nelson finished with 16 assists, seven digs and two service aces.
Gabi Borresen added 15 assists, five digs and two aces.
Kate VanRooyan led Dakota State defensively with 12 digs, followed by
Reagan VanRooyan with eight digs and Nelson with seven.
Kuperus powered Dordt with a match-high 21 kills and a .429 hitting percentage, committing just six errors in 35 attacks. Ellie Weg added 10 kills on 17 attempts for a .471 hitting percentage and had four block assists. Laney Wolfswinkel contributed nine kills and three service aces, while Scarlett Winterfeld finished with eight kills.
Chloe Huisman directed Dordt's offense with 37 assists and two service aces. Carlee Jackson added 19 assists and three aces. Kylie Beckering led all players with 23 digs and also had two service aces.
Up next
Dakota State closes out their non-conference schedule Wednesday as they play their season home opener at DSU Fieldhouse. The Trojans host rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), nationally-ranked No. 16 in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 national poll. The junior varsity match kicks off at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity match at 7 p.m.
Swap 'Ur Swag / White Out is the theme for the volleyball home match on Wednesday evening.
