North Sioux City, South Dakota – The Bulldogs got their 2026 campaign underway this weekend in the CNOS Fieldhouse up in South Dakota in the NAIA Sioux City Tournament. Following their stellar 2025 campaign, McPherson had a couple new faces on the court alongside plentiful veteran returners against very competitive teams.
Game One: McPherson College vs Corban University
Score: MC 2, CU 3
The Bulldogs’ first matchup of the weekend featured the highest level of competition that they would see all weekend in 5th nationally ranked Corban University. McPherson rolled in the first set to a 25-19 win despite their hitting percentage sitting below .100. They would finish with 12 kills on 36 total attacks and three errors, compared to Corban’s .071 hit rate with seven kills and five errors on 28 total attacks.
Although the Bulldogs held a higher hitting percentage on the court, the next two sets would go in favor of the Warriors by way of 26-24, 25-23 before McPherson was able to force a fifth set with a 25-20 fourth set win.
In the fifth set, it was Corban that took their first win of the year with a fifth set final score of 15-7 over McPherson. Lily Gray led the way for McPherson offensively with 14 kills followed by Enya Fierens with 11 and Tori Buss with nine. In the final box score, the Bulldogs outhit the Warriors .097 to Corban’s .048.
Game Two: McPherson College vs Dickinson State University
Score: MC 3, DSU 0
McPherson’s second game of the day wrote another story; in this one, the Bulldogs played their way.
It would take just three sets for the Bulldogs to handle Dickinson State. McPherson hit .288 on the court with 41 kills and 11 errors on 104 total attacks, a much more efficient outing that led to their success in the evening. Dickinson State hit just .110 on the court and was haunted by their 22 errors on 109 total attacks, finishing with 34 kills.
Offensively, Fierens was the go-to hitter as she finished with 16 kills in the three-set match with an incredible rate of .667 on 16 kills; she finished with zero errors. Also accompanying her stat line was her four service aces of the team’s nine. Defensively, newcomer Isabella Calle racked up 15 digs for the Bulldogs, adding two assists to her night.
Game Three: McPherson College vs Dordt University
Score: MC 3, DU 0
McPherson started Day Two with a three-set victory over Dordt University in the morning by way of 25-18, 25-17, 25-17. They would finish the morning with a hitting percentage of .196 with 32 kills on 97 total attacks. Dordt struggled to find their rhythm on offense as they finished with a hitting percentage of .009 with 29 kills and 28 errors on 111 total attacks.
Fierens and Gray led offensively in this contest once again with 18 combined kills between the two, followed once again closely by sophomore Tori Buss with six kills. The attacks ran mainly through Roxana Varela Parra (11 assists) and Tabor Scanlon (15 assists) which is nothing new for McPherson as those two continue to provide great passes for their hitters.
McPherson out-dug Dordt 44-39; Adelynne Strecker and Isabella Calle combined for 20 total digs for the Bulldogs followed by Havana Olander with seven in the match.
Game Four: McPherson College vs Concordia University
Score: MC 1, CU 3
McPherson wrapped up their trip against a tough opponent in Concordia University, a team who had previously made it to the NAIA National Tournament in 2025.
Concordia’s Shandy Faalii was an absolute weapon for the Bulldogs as she finished the four-set match with 22 kills on a hit rate of .269. She also led Concordia from the service line with her three service aces. Another noteworthy name for the Bulldogs was Bella Hedke who racked up eight total blocks for her squad.
McPherson had taken set two 25-23 over Concordia after dropping the first set 25-23, but the Bulldogs were unable to continue their momentum in the remainder of the match as Concordia took the third set 25-22 and the fourth 28-26 in a tough fight to the end.
Miriam Maino and Fierens both finished the four-set match with nine kills.
Up Next
After taking the trip up North, the Bulldogs will head down South to the Lone Star State to compete in the Nelson/Texas Wesleyan Invitational. Their first matchup of the four total features Our lady of the Lake University in Waxahachie, Texas on August 28th at 10:00 AM.
