October 15, 2014

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State overcame their slow start Wednesday evening for a 3-1 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) volleyball conference victory over Presentation (S.D.) at Strode Center.  After dropping the first set 25-22, the Trojans used fast starts in the next three sets to defeat the Saints 25-17, 25-11 and 25-8.

Dakota State earned their 16th victory of the season, matching the most victories since 2011 and 2005 seasons.  The Trojans raised their overall record to 16-10 and 4-2 in NSAA conference action.  Presentation fell to 7-15 overall record and remained winless in six NSAA conference matches.

PC opened the match by scoring three straight points for a 3-0 lead.  The Saints' lead grew to 12-6.  The Trojans went on an 11-6 scoring run to trim PC's lead to 18-17.  Presentation was able to close the first set by the score of 25-22 and a 1-0 match lead.

Presentation hit .229 in the opening set (15 kills with 7 errors in 35 attempts) while Dakota State hit .156 (11 kills with 6 errors in 32 attempts).

DSU raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set, forcing the Saints to call timeout.  The Trojans went on to win the second set at 25-17 to tie the match at 1-1.  Dakota State recorded a hitting percentage of .200 (12 kills with 4 errors in 40 attempts), while Presentation was held to .064 (13 kills with 10 errors in 47 attempts).

The Trojans used another fast start to earn a 4-0 lead in the third set, thanks to a pair of kills by Taylor Stratton and a kill by Kylie Martin.  DSU never looked back and cruised to a 25-11 third set win, earning a 2-1 match lead.

Dakota State hit an impressive .441 in the third set, smashing 16 kills with 1 error in 34 attempts.  PC struggled by hitting .000 with 7 kills, committing 7 errors in 36 attempts.

For the third straight set, DSU used a fast start by scoring six straight points to grab a 6-0 fourth set lead (Carly Rozell had two kills and Caitlin Pick and Kylie Martin each had a kill during DSU's scoring run).  Dakota State stormed past the Saints for a 25-8 fourth set victory, securing a 3-1 match victory.

The Trojans outhit the Saints 14-4 in the fourth set.  DSU recorded a hitting efficiency of .393 compared to PC's negative .060.

DSU smashed a total of 42 kills in the final three sets of the match, committing just eight errors in 102 attempts (.333 hitting percentage).  PC had 24 kills with 23 attacks errors in 116 attempts and was held to .008 hitting percentage in the final three sets.

Rozell led the Trojans' offense with 16 kills.  She hit .457 in the match.  Pick added 13 kills and recorded a hitting percentage of .267.  Martin earned eight kills.  Stratton had six kills.  Tessa Weeldreyer tallied five kills.

Stacey Westby recorded a double-double of 18 set assists and collected 16 digs for Dakota State.  Kaylee Vander Wal added 12 assists.

Katherine Gonzalez surpassed 1,000 career digs after recording 21 digs to lead DSU's defense.  Prior to the match, she need 15 digs to join the 1,000-club.  Allison Thielsen added 10 digs.

Thielsen recorded two service aces for DSU.  Gonzalez, Vander Wal and Rozell each added an ace.

Weeldreyer and Pick each had three block assists for the Trojans.  Martin and Rozell each added two block assists.

Megan Ochsner had 15 kills for the Saints.  Mallori Rabenberg and Karly Fuhrman each added seven kills.

Abigail Wahl produced 16 assists for PC, while her teammate added 15 assists.

Alyssa Jung led Presentation's defense with 23 digs.  Rabenberg added 11 digs.  Carly Peterson recorded two service aces.

Dakota State outhit Presentation 53-39 in the match.  The Trojans hit .291 (14 errors in 134 attempts) compared to the Saints' .060 (30 errors in 151 attempts). 

DSU had seven team blocks compared to PC three team blocks.  The Trojans recorded five service aces while the Saints had four service aces.

The junior varsity match was won by Dakota State in three straight sets over Presentation (25-15, 25-11 and 25-18).

Dakota State continues their action on the road as they compete in the final tournament this weekend.  The Trojans play four matches in the two-day Waldorf (Iowa) Tournament, starting with Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) at 2:30 p.m. and AIB (Iowa) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.  The tournament takes place at the Hanson Fieldhouse in Forest City, Iowa.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director