Benjamin Boersma — Staff Writer

Photo by Sawyer Strelnieks

The Dordt men’s volleyball team hosted Graceland University last Saturday in their first two home games of the season. In spite of several hard-fought sets, Dordt lost both matches with 3-0 set scores.

“Graceland is a unified team,” said Coach Chad Hanson. “We have a lot of young players, and some of them need to grow in their experience.”

Of the twenty students on the team, 14 are freshmen or sophomores.

Senior outside hitter Ben Tiemersma led the team in kills last season and continued to lead the team on offense. He came into this season averaging 2.57 kills per set. He had 11 kills in both of last Saturday’s matches, giving him an average of 3.67 kills per set.

Contributed Photo

“I thought the games went pretty well,” said Tiemersma. “Despite the loss there was plenty of growth from our team. Overall, it was fun just being back out on the court.”

Dordt last played Graceland twice in 2017. The first match was in March, while the second was in April. Graceland won both matches with set scores of 3-2 and 3-0 respectively.

“The team continues to get better every season,” said Tiemersma. “New guys who come in are willing to accept the roles given to them and contribute to the program.”

The Defenders will traveled to Ottawa, Kansas, Friday February 1. They will be took on the Ottawa University Braves at 7:00 that evening.

“I look forward to seeing the guys grow in trusting their teammates,” said Hanson. “There’s some great volleyball ahead in this season.”