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Aug. 12—MITCHELL — There's going to be preseason expectations for the Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball team in 2026.
The Tigers are perfectly fine with that.
DWU brings back 11 players who got playing time in the final match at the NAIA national tournament in 2025, including two All-Americans. They were picked third in the GPAC preseason poll in a conference expected to be loaded again and are ranked No. 16 in the NAIA preseason top-25 coaches poll.
But those expectations are no issue for the Tigers, who are embracing the opportunities ahead of them for a new season.
"We've already talked about it. We say pressure is a privilege, and we earned it," DWU coach Lindsay Wilber said. "We should be here, and we talk about not overstressing over where we're at. And I think this group knows what it takes to be ranked, and so I think we're going to be just fine."
Then again, watch this year's Tigers in action and it's clear it's a highly competitive group of players. An intra-squad scrimmage on Monday, Aug. 10 included a reserve unit of Tigers winning a set against the team's starters.
"It's ultra competitive," Wilber said. "And I just thought to myself, we need to play someone else. Because the players on that side of the net, they're incredible defensive-minded players and they want to play, too. They want to be on this side of the court."
DWU will get the chance to play someone else starting Friday in San Antonio, Texas, with four matches over the weekend at Our Lady of the Lake University. It's the first of 12 consecutive road matches to start the season before DWU hosts Dordt in its home opener on Sept. 9.
As for the season-opening matches, DWU assistant coach Sina Nu'u is from Texas, and Wilber said there's going to be about 50 family and friends making the trip, plus Nu'u's Polynesian family will be on hand to support the team.
DWU senior standout Lizzie Tyler said the team has already built on last season's 20-win campaign and the Tigers feel they're ahead of the game this year because of that.
"We've been playing together for a while, so the first couple of weeks you're still trying to figure each other out, and I feel like we don't have to do that this year," she said. "We just have that connection. With our run that we had at the end of last season, we obviously have big goals to get back to that stage. That's really been a drive for us to keep building that momentum."
"We haven't had to reinvent the wheel or anything. We've gone pretty hard in these practices," Wilber added. "We moved in July 31 and we go to Texas on (Aug. 12), so we needed to be ready to go but this is a great group. They hold each other accountable. We have six seniors, and such good role models and good leadership. They push each other and now I think we're ready to get on the court and play."
Wilber said there's a clear strength of the team with the Tigers' defense. That's led by Tyler, who was the GPAC defensive player of the year in 2025 and racked up 692 digs in 32 matches last season. The returners also include defensive specialists junior Abigail Zegar, junior Presly Pastian and senior Carlee Laubach, plus talented Tigers senior setter and All-American Kayleigh Hybertson. Wilber also commended Chloe Bosma and Sophie DeLange as young players who have improved a lot and will be key parts of DWU's future, even as the varsity lineup is crowded.
"We're going to be No. 1 in the country in digs per set," Wilber said. "Last season, we were second. I know some of my other kids, even that are on our second unit, they want to play. But I'm like, 'We're going to have the best defense in the country, so you might just have to wait a year.' But defense, defense, defense, that's what we'll be about."
Offensively, the Tigers have junior hitters Evy Knoblock and Karly VanDerWerff returning, plus sophomores Madisyn Grimsrud and Keatyn Liebsack and junior Olivia Bures to take on bigger roles.
"I think we're going to terminate more this season," Wilber said. "I feel like Evy Knoblock is really taking a huge step this year and then Karly VanDerWerff really peaked at the end of last season, and she'll be ready to go. Keatyn Liebsack had a tremendous game at the national tournament last year at the end of the year. I like how that part of our game is shaping up."
Tyler echoed Wilber's pressured message, knowing it's a privilege to have expectations. She also is one of the Tigers' seniors who helped craft the "Outwork, Outlast, Outplay" team motto this season that is on the back of the team's practice shirts.
"We're going to be the hardest workers in the gym," Tyler said. "We're going to put in the extra work. And the outlast part comes not so much physically but also mentally, being a college athlete is hard. So, we have to really outlast those physical and mental challenges."
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The Tigers are perfectly fine with that.
DWU brings back 11 players who got playing time in the final match at the NAIA national tournament in 2025, including two All-Americans. They were picked third in the GPAC preseason poll in a conference expected to be loaded again and are ranked No. 16 in the NAIA preseason top-25 coaches poll.
But those expectations are no issue for the Tigers, who are embracing the opportunities ahead of them for a new season.
"We've already talked about it. We say pressure is a privilege, and we earned it," DWU coach Lindsay Wilber said. "We should be here, and we talk about not overstressing over where we're at. And I think this group knows what it takes to be ranked, and so I think we're going to be just fine."
Then again, watch this year's Tigers in action and it's clear it's a highly competitive group of players. An intra-squad scrimmage on Monday, Aug. 10 included a reserve unit of Tigers winning a set against the team's starters.
"It's ultra competitive," Wilber said. "And I just thought to myself, we need to play someone else. Because the players on that side of the net, they're incredible defensive-minded players and they want to play, too. They want to be on this side of the court."
DWU will get the chance to play someone else starting Friday in San Antonio, Texas, with four matches over the weekend at Our Lady of the Lake University. It's the first of 12 consecutive road matches to start the season before DWU hosts Dordt in its home opener on Sept. 9.
As for the season-opening matches, DWU assistant coach Sina Nu'u is from Texas, and Wilber said there's going to be about 50 family and friends making the trip, plus Nu'u's Polynesian family will be on hand to support the team.
DWU senior standout Lizzie Tyler said the team has already built on last season's 20-win campaign and the Tigers feel they're ahead of the game this year because of that.
"We've been playing together for a while, so the first couple of weeks you're still trying to figure each other out, and I feel like we don't have to do that this year," she said. "We just have that connection. With our run that we had at the end of last season, we obviously have big goals to get back to that stage. That's really been a drive for us to keep building that momentum."
"We haven't had to reinvent the wheel or anything. We've gone pretty hard in these practices," Wilber added. "We moved in July 31 and we go to Texas on (Aug. 12), so we needed to be ready to go but this is a great group. They hold each other accountable. We have six seniors, and such good role models and good leadership. They push each other and now I think we're ready to get on the court and play."
Wilber said there's a clear strength of the team with the Tigers' defense. That's led by Tyler, who was the GPAC defensive player of the year in 2025 and racked up 692 digs in 32 matches last season. The returners also include defensive specialists junior Abigail Zegar, junior Presly Pastian and senior Carlee Laubach, plus talented Tigers senior setter and All-American Kayleigh Hybertson. Wilber also commended Chloe Bosma and Sophie DeLange as young players who have improved a lot and will be key parts of DWU's future, even as the varsity lineup is crowded.
"We're going to be No. 1 in the country in digs per set," Wilber said. "Last season, we were second. I know some of my other kids, even that are on our second unit, they want to play. But I'm like, 'We're going to have the best defense in the country, so you might just have to wait a year.' But defense, defense, defense, that's what we'll be about."
Offensively, the Tigers have junior hitters Evy Knoblock and Karly VanDerWerff returning, plus sophomores Madisyn Grimsrud and Keatyn Liebsack and junior Olivia Bures to take on bigger roles.
"I think we're going to terminate more this season," Wilber said. "I feel like Evy Knoblock is really taking a huge step this year and then Karly VanDerWerff really peaked at the end of last season, and she'll be ready to go. Keatyn Liebsack had a tremendous game at the national tournament last year at the end of the year. I like how that part of our game is shaping up."
Tyler echoed Wilber's pressured message, knowing it's a privilege to have expectations. She also is one of the Tigers' seniors who helped craft the "Outwork, Outlast, Outplay" team motto this season that is on the back of the team's practice shirts.
"We're going to be the hardest workers in the gym," Tyler said. "We're going to put in the extra work. And the outlast part comes not so much physically but also mentally, being a college athlete is hard. So, we have to really outlast those physical and mental challenges."
Continue reading...
