Warriors Battle to the End in Five-Set Thriller Against Briar Cliff

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — November 1, 2025 — The Waldorf University volleyball team put up a fierce fight on the road Saturday night. Still ultimately falling just short in a five-set battle against Briar Cliff University at the Newman Flanagan Center. The Chargers edged out the Warriors 3–2 (28–26, 15–25, 25–23, 10–25, 15–9) in a hard-fought match.

The Warriors came out strong in the opening set, jumping to a 4–1 lead and maintaining control until Briar Cliff tied things up at 16–16. Both teams traded points in an intense back-and-forth finish before the Chargers narrowly claimed the set, 28–26.

Waldorf answered back dominantly in set two, using strong serving and solid offensive execution to take a convincing 25–15 win and even the match at one set apiece.

Set three saw the Warriors again open with a 4–1 advantage before the Chargers went on a six-point run to take the lead at 10–9. The teams continued to battle point-for-point, but Briar Cliff managed to edge out the set 25–23.

With their backs against the wall, the Warriors responded with their best set of the night—rolling to a 25–10 victory behind strong play at the net and a confident offensive rhythm.

In the deciding fifth set, Waldorf again jumped out to a 4–1 lead, showing their resilience and fight. However, Briar Cliff found a late surge to take the set 15–9 and seal the win.

Offensively, Emily Goodner led the Warriors with 16 kills, followed by Anna Longhenry with 13 and Kaylin Koch with 11. Longhenry also led the team defensively at the net with 2 blocks.

Setting duties were shared by Reinya Balderson, who tallied 33 assists, and Gianna Sifuentes, who added 19. McKenna Marlow anchored the defense with a team-high 28 digs, while Sifuentes (19 assists, 10 digs) and Goodner (16 kills, 12 digs) each earned double-doubles for their all-around performances.

From the service line, Rina Maiava paced the Warriors with an impressive 6 aces, followed by Balderson (2), Peyton Klooster (1), Maya Augustine (1), and Ashley Kurschner (1).

With the loss, Waldorf moves to 11–12 overall on the season. The Warriors will wrap up their regular-season conference play on Tuesday, November 4, traveling to Orange City, Iowa, to face Northwestern College at the Bultman Center. JV begins at 6 p.m., followed by Varsity at 7:30 p.m.