Men's Volleyball Opens Season With Weekend Matches
- Posted Thursday, January 20, 2022
- Updated Friday, January 21, 2022
MATCHES
Dordt will host Clarke and Viterbo in men’s volleyball play on Friday and Saturday, January 21 and 22. The Friday match against Clarke gets underway at 7:00 and the Saturday match against Viterbo starts at 11:00.
COVERAGE
Dordt vs Clarke live in game stats
Dordt Media Network video for Dordt vs Clarke
Dordt vs Viterbo live in game stats
Dordt Media Network video for Dordt vs Viterbo
TICKETS
Advance tickets are available for sale online
CLARKE
Clarke was 5-18 last season and 3-15 in the Heart of America Conference with wins in league play over Culver Stockton and Health Sciences and Pharmacy (twice).
The Pride beat Augustana College (Illinois) in its season opener 3-2 and feature six returners from last year’s team.
Michael Jenkins is back after averaging 3.2 kills per set with 14 ace serves and 1.8 digs per contest. Erik Schmidt chipped in 1.9 kills, 4.1 assists and 2.0 digs per set last season. Nick Palatine got to 2.6 digs per contest and Tye Ojala was a six-rotation player with 1.6 kills and 1.4 digs per set last season. Montez Thompson added 1.2 kills per set last season.
Clarke averaged 10 kills per set with a .109 kill efficiency and allowed 11.96 kills per set. Teams put up 2.35 points per set on blocks and Clarke had 1.33 per outing.
This year’s Clarke team is 1-1 with a loss to Augustana (Illinois) and a 3-0 win over William Penn. Michael Jenkins has a 2.38 kills per set average with a .157 kill efficiency and Montez Thompson is at 1.5 and Stephen Lewandowski is good for 1.38 kills per contest with a .280 kill efficiency. Erik Schmidt adds 6.38 assists per set and Jenkins, Thompson and Schmidt all have 1.88 digs per set. Nick Palatine has three service aces to lead the Pride.
VITERBO
Viterbo posted a 10-12 record last season and was 4-8 in the Chicagoland Conference in 2021. The VHawks are playing their season opener this weekend.
Viterbo’s top returner at the net is Derek Myers with a 2.6 kills per set average and a 1.5 digs per outing average. Joe Todd puts down 1.2 kills and Dane Kerkman averaged 1.4 kills per outing. Andrew Lepage put up 8.4 assists per set and had two digs per set.
DORDT
The Dordt Defenders are coming off a 7-11 season where they finished 3-3 in league play. The Defenders earned league wins over Morningside twice and Ottawa to claim second place in the conference.
Returners for the Defenders include Caleb Kulesza with his 4.13 kills per set average and a .259 kill efficiency. Andres Guzman put down 2.65 kills per set during his initial Dordt season and had 19 ace serves. Luke Nelson returns after posting 1.34 kills per set and 1.03 blocks per outing. Dordt’s offense last season produced 10.3 kills per set and 1.35 ace serves per outing.
Boris Le averaged 4.67 assists per contest and 1.55 digs while Levi Ewald was the team leader in digs with 2.24 and Kulesza and Guzman each had 2.24 and 2.15 digs per set.
SERIES
Dordt and Clarke met in Parkville, Missouri on January 22, 2021 last season and Dordt was a 3-1 winner by set scores of 25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 30-28. Caleb Kulesza led the Defenders with 24 kills and Andres Guzman had 12 and Luke Nelson seven with five block assists. Jenkins had 15 kills for the Pride.
Viterbo beat Dordt twice last season with a 3-2 win on February 13 in Lacrosse, Wisconsin and a 3-1 decision on March 6. Kulesza had 20 kills with 17 digs and Guzman recorded 14 with four block assists. Boris Le and Jeremy Van Belle had 19 and 20 assists respectively while Brett Thompson put down 22 kills in the March meeting.
NEXT
Dordt plays a pair of conference matches on the road on January 28 and 29 at Central Christian and Kansas Wesleyan.
Clarke will play Morningside on Saturday before hosting Grand View on Tuesday, January 25.
Viterbo will travel to face St. Ambrose on January 27.
GPAC STANDINGS
Dordt 0-0/0-0
Central Christian 0-0/0-0
Jamestown 0-0/0-0
Kansas Wesleyan 0-0/0-0
Morningside 0-0/0-0
Ottawa 0-0/0-0
GPAC SCHEDULE
Friday, January 21
Clarke @ Dordt
Viterbo @ Morningside
Saturday, January 22
Viterbo @ Dordt
Clarke @ Morningside