Warriors Fall to Blue Hawks in 5

DICKINSON, N.D. – The Waldorf volleyball returned to conference play for an away game against the Dickinson State Blue Hawks on Friday evening. In a thrilling, back-and-forth five set match, the Warriors lost 2-3.

In the first set, the Blue Hawks took a 3-8 lead before the Warriors tied the game 8-8 with kills from Anna Longhenry (SO/Fenton, IA) and Sydney Kidd (FR/Roscoe, IL). 

The Warriors went on an eight-point run to go up 16-12 that included kills from Annie Stotlar (JR/Davenport, IA) and Kenzie Kidd (SR/Roscoe, IL), and a block from Charlotte Wright (SR/Porter, MN) and Stotlar. The Blue Hawks answered to tie the game again at 16. The set ended in a continuous back and forth battle, but the Blue Hawks won 27-29.

In set two, the Warriors had a bit of a slow start and trailed by four points at most. Waldorf tied the game at 13 and then again at 18 before the Blue Hawks took an 18-21 lead. 

The Warriors capitalized on Blue Hawk errors and saw kills from Kenzie Kidd and Alicia Brandt (JR/Lakefield, MN) to take the set 25-22.

For the third set, the Warriors started off strong with a 6-3 lead. The rest of the third set continued as a back-and-forth battle with the Blue Hawks winning 23-25.

In the fourth set, the Warriors had a commanding start by keeping their lead to 21-15, forcing the Blue Hawks to take a timeout. Dickinson State responded well by tying the game 22-22. 

The Warriors took the fourth set to force a fifth with three straight kills from Longhenry, Sydney Kidd, and Stotlar.

The fifth set was a battle from start to finish, but Waldorf's errors lost them the game 14-16. The Warriors had eight kills compared to the Blue Hawks five, yet the seven errors cost them the match.

Kenzie Kidd finished with a double-double of 15 kills and 17 digs, with two solo blocks. Sydney Kidd and Stotlar each had 12 kills and Longhnery and Brandt both added nine, Brandt also had five solo blocks. Emma Hovenga (SR/Forest City, IA) also had a double-double of 30 assists and 16 digs. Reinya Balderson (FR/Marshfield, WI) finished with 26 assists. Kaylee Kidd (SR/Roscoe, IL) had a team high of 29 digs and three aces. Juliet Karlen (JR/Janesville, WI) added 14 digs. 

The Warriors bounce back for another conference game tomorrow, September 30^th against Valley City State starting at 11 am.