October 2, 2015
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - Coming Soon
Photo credits by Kaden Huntrods
MADISON, S.D. – Trailing 14-10 in the fifth set Friday evening at DSU Fieldhouse, the Dakota State University volleyball team stormed back to tie at 14-14 versus Jamestown (N.D.) in the North Star Athletic Association conference match. The Jimmies scored the final two points to gain a 3-2 thriller over the Trojans, handing DSU their first home loss of the season.
Dakota State fell to 12-11 overall record and 4-2 NSAA conference record. Jamestown, receiving votes in the latest NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, won their fifth straight match to raise their overall record to 10-7 and remained undefeated in five NSAA conference matches.
Both Dakota State and Jamestown went through 11 ties and 2 lead changes in the opening set. At 23-23, the Trojans secured the first set by scoring the final two points with a kill by Tessa Weeldreyer and Carly Rozell for a 25-23 victory and 1-0 match lead. The Trojans hit .179 (13 kills with 6 errors in 39 attempts) while the Jimmies were held to .091 hitting efficiency (12 kills with 8 errors in 44 attempts).
The second set was much similar to the opening set where both teams went through 13 ties and 3 lead changes. With the score tied at 17-17, Jamestown closed the set with an 8-3 run for a 25-20 victory and tied the match at 1-1. Both DSU and UJ had 14 kills in the second set, but the Trojans committed eight attack errors in 49 attempts (.122 hitting efficiency) and Jimmies with two attack errors in 42 attempts (.286 hitting percentage).
Down 15-12 in the third set, Dakota State roared back with an impressive 13-4 scoring run to grab a 2-1 match lead after recording a 25-19 victory. During the scoring run, DSU produced five kills with two apiece by Kirstin Johnson and McKenzie Werner and a service ace by Carly Rozell.
Jamestown was held to .000 hitting percentage in the third set (7 kills with 7 errors in 33 attempts) while Dakota State hit .229 (15 kills with 7 errors in 35 attempts).
The Jimmies raced to a 14-6 lead in the fourth set and cruised to a 25-14 fourth set victory, forcing the decisive fifth set. UJ outhit DSU 10-4 in the set. The Trojans committed nine attack errors compared to the Jimmies' five attack errors.
UJ used a fast start in the fifth set with a 6-2 lead. With the Jimmies leading 14-10, the Trojans mounted a comeback by scoring four straight points to tie at 14-14. During the 4-0 scoring run by DSU, the Trojans produced three kills by Tessa Weeldreyer, Kirstin Johnson and Rozell along with an attack error by Madison Wendel.
Heather Bachman recorded a kill to give UJ a 15-14 lead. The match ended when Siri Jystad smashed a kill to earn a 16-14 fifth set victory. Dakota State had 13 kills in the final set compared to Jamestown 12 kills. UJ committed just one attack error in 26 attempts (.423 hitting percentage) while DSU hit .435 with 3 attack errors in 23 attempts.
Rozell posted a double-double of 17 kills and 19 digs for the Trojans. She had four service aces in the match. Kirstin Johnson added 14 kills. Weeldreyer smashed 14 kills. Werner had nine kills.
Kaylee Vander Wal produced 28 assists for DSU. Rachel Johnson recorded a double-double of 23 assists and 12 digs.
Chelsey Davis led Dakota State's defense with 27 digs. Allison Thielsen added 11 digs.
Weeldreyer recorded four block assists for the Trojans. Kirstin Johnson and Kylie Martin each had three block assists.
Kaitlin Anderson led the Jimmies' offense attack with 14 kills. Wendel added 13 kills and hit .393 in the match. Bachman had 10 kills.
Kaia Buck had a double-double of 30 assists and 12 digs for UJ. Aubrey Beaumont added a double-double of 21 assists and 10 digs.
Nicole Warren registered 29 digs and 3 service aces for Jamestown. Julina Niemeier and Alaina Brown each had 10 digs.
Niemeier and Buck each recorded two service aces for the Jimmies. Wendel collected three solo blocks and a block assist.
DSU outhit UJ 59-55 in the match. The Jimmies hit .181 (23 errors in 177 attempts) compared to the Trojans' .141 hitting efficiency (33 errors in 185 attempts).
Jamestown recorded a serving percentage of .924 with 9 service aces and 8 errors in 105 attempts. Dakota State served .921 behind the serving line with 8 errors in 101 attempts.
DSU had 87 digs while UJ had 84 digs. The Jimmies recorded 11 team blocks while the Trojans had 7 blocks.
Dakota State looks to bounce back in the winning column Saturday afternoon as they continue their eight-match home stand. The Trojans host Dickinson State (N.D.) in another NSAA conference action. First serve is set for 12:30 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse.
Jamestown heads to Presentation (S.D.) in the other NSAA conference match-up. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. at the Strode Center in Aberdeen.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
