Dana Defeats Mt. Marty and goes 1-3 at Grinnell

The Dana College Volleyball team opened up Great Plains Athletic Conference play Aug. 29 against Mt. Marty College, coming away with a 3-1 win.  They then went 1-3 at the Grinnell Volleyball Tournament over Labor Day weekend.  The Vikings swept host Grinnell 3-0 (32-30, 30-17, 30-11).  Dana then lost the next three matches to Augustana (IL) 0-3, William Penn University 1-3, and Central College (IA) 0-3.

For the first time in many years, the Dana College volleyball team opened up the conference season with a win.  The Vikings defeated Mt. Marty in four games (27-30, 30-21, 30-22, 30-19).  Dana had three players in double digit kills.  Kali Brayfield (SO, Elkhorn, Neb.) led the team with 20 kills.  Two freshmen, April Fitch (Creighton, Neb.) and Danielle Neville (Grand Island, Neb.), also helped the Viking cause with 18 and 16 kills respectively. 

“Kali Brayfield was very affective on the block and powerful on the attack,” said Coach Rayna Cain.  “Dani Neville had an all-around great match.  This win was an overall team effort.”

Another freshman, Stephanie Connell (Harlan, Iowa), dished out 38 set assists.  Nichole Elwood (SO, Fremont, Neb.) also helped to pace the attack with 14 assists.  Neville, Elwood, and Casey Smith (FR, Yutan, Neb.) each served two aces.  Brayfield also had one solo block and ten block assists.

“The girls had a ton of fun,” said Cain on the win.  “They were very aggressive on offense and scrappy on the defensive end.  This was our first win at home and of the season.”

The opening match of the Grinnell Tourney saw the Vikings hitting on all cylinders. Neville led the Vikings with 16 kills.  Lacie Greiner (SO, Boone, Iowa) contributed 12 kills. Elwood and Connell had 25 and 13 set assists to help set up the Viking hitters.  Nicole Venditte (SO, Omaha, Neb.) and Casey Smith (FR, Yutan, Neb.) had four and five service aces to help Dana score some easy points.  Venditte and Fitch each had four block assists in the match.

Dana did not fair as well in the second game on Friday evening.  Dana fell in four sets (24-30, 30-26, 27-30, 26-30) to Augustana College of Illinois. Fitch and Brayfield led the Vikings with 13 and 15 kills respectively. Greiner drilled five service aces to help keep the Vikings in the match. Elwood dished out 31 set assists on the night.  Brayfield also helped the Vikings out defensively with three solo blocks.

Saturday morning saw the Vikings take on two more tough foes in William Penn and Central.  Dana gave William Penn everything they could handle before dropping a four-set match.  The Viking spikers came up short, 26-30, 21-30, 30-17, 24-30.  The Statesmen had four attackers with double digit kills compared to the one Viking in double figures.  Greiner had 10 kills in the four-set match.  She also served up six aces.  Connell dished out 21 set assists. Fitch had two solo blocks.  Greiner, Neville, and Venditte each had double-digit digs.

“We were challenged in many aspects of the game, which will prepare us for our conference play,” said Cain.

The last game of the tournament saw Dana go up against NCAA Division III power Central College of Iowa.  The Vikings dropped the match in three sets, 26-30, 23-30, 24-30.  Brayfield led the Vikings with 12 kills.  Greiner and Neville each chipped in eight kills. Connell handed out 23 assists. 

“The team played at a different level this weekend,” said Cain.  “They competed against outstanding teams like Augustana and Central.  We took a set from Augustana and had another close game against them as well.”

Connell, Venditte, and Brayfield were named to the All-Tournament team.  Dana was the only team that received more than two nominations.

Dana is now 2-4 on the season and 1-0 in GPAC play.