October 18, 2014
FOREST CITY, Iowa – The Dakota State University volleyball team could not get a win on the final day of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Invitational Saturday afternoon at Hanson Fieldhouse. The Trojans dropped a pair of matches in four sets to Mount Mercy (Iowa) and host-team Waldorf (Iowa).
Dakota State dipped their overall record to 17-13 and finished with a 1-3 record in the tournament.
Mount Mercy (Iowa) 3, Dakota State (S.D.) 1
The Mustangs defeated the Trojans in four sets by the scores of 27-25, 25-17, 20-25 and 26-24. Mount Mercy earned a season split with Dakota State (DSU defeated MMC in four sets last August in the Mustang Invitational).
Caitlin Pick led the Trojans' offense attack with 18 kills. Carly Rozell recorded a double-double of 14 kills and 13 digs. Tessa Weeldreyer smashed 10 kills. Alicia Karst had nine kills.
Stacey Westby produced a season-high 33 set assists for Dakota State. She added 14 digs to earn a double-double in the match. Kaylee Vander Wal had 23 assists.
Katherine Gonzalez tallied a career-high 34 digs for the Trojans. Allison Thielsen had 10 digs.
Pick recorded four block assists (2 total blocks) for DSU. Rozell and Kylie Martin each had two block assists.
The Trojans hit .217 in the match, recording 65 kills with 22 errors in 198 attempts. DSU had a season-high 104 digs. Dakota State had six blocks (10 block assists and a solo block).
No statistics were reported for Mount Mercy (12-18 overall record).
Waldorf (Iowa) 3, Dakota State (S.D.) 1
The Warriors (11-20) defeated the Trojans in the final match of the tournament by the scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-19 and 25-22.
Pick tallied 15 kills for DSU, her fifth straight match that she had earned double-digits kills. Rozell recorded double-digits kills for her sixth straight match after recording 12 kills in the match. Brittney Anderson had seven kills.
Westby registered 20 set assists, while Vander Wal added 14 assists for the Trojans.
Gonzalez led DSU's defense with 24 digs. Thielsen recorded 13 digs.
The Trojans set a new season-high with 17 blocks in the match (32 block assists and a solo block). Pick had 5.5 blocks (9 block assists and a solo block). Weeldreyer added seven block assists (3.5 total blocks). Rozell earned six block assists (3 total blocks).
Abby Buehler had 18 kills for the Warriors. Courtney Palmer added 14 kills. Megan Perkins had 12 kills.
Kaitlyn Monck led Waldorf with 27 assists. Jessica Denholm had 23 assists.
Palmer had 21 digs for WC's defense. Perkins added 15 digs. Briley Sullivan recorded 14 digs. Bueheler had seven block assists.
Waldorf outhit Dakota State 57-44 in the match. The Trojans hit .130 (24 errors in 154 attempts) while the Warriors hit .131 (34 errors in 175 attempts).
Dakota State returns back to North Star Athletic Association conference play next weekend. The Trojans will make a trip to North Dakota for a pair of volleyball matches. DSU will make their first stop at Dickinson State (N.D.) on Friday evening. First serve from the Scott Gymnasium is slated for 8 p.m. (Central Time)/7 p.m. (Mountain Time).
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
