September 5, 2015

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) were swept by a pair of teams Saturday on the second day of the Corn Palace Volleyball Classic.  The Trojans lost to Clarke (Iowa) 25-18, 25-18 and 25-19 and Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) in the night-cap by the scores of 25-22, 25-17 and 25-19.

Dakota State fell to 4-6 overall record, while Clarke was 5-0 overall record and Dakota Wesleyan at 5-1 record.

Clarke (Iowa) 3, Dakota State (S.D.) 0 – FINAL

The Trojans could not get their third straight victory as they were swept by the Crusaders in three straight sets.  CU won by the scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-19.

Dakota State and Clarke went through a see-saw through the first 29 points of the first set.  Leading 15-14, the Crusaders went on a 10-4 closing run to win the opening set at 25-18.  CU hit .286 (12 kills with 2 errors in 43 attempts), but took advantage of DSU's 8 attack errors and hitting percentage of .140 (14 kills in 43 attempts).

Clarke used another strong closing run in the second set.  At 11-10, CU used a 14-8 run to secure the second set at 25-18 and extended their match lead to 2-0.  The Crusaders outhit the Trojans 17-6 and .243 to .097 in the second set.

With the score at 22-19 in the third set, Clarke sealed the match by scoring the final three points of the game (25-19). 

Carly Rozell contributed 10 kills for the Trojans.  Alicia Karst and Kylie Martin each added five kills.

Rachel Johnson led DSU with 15 set assists.  Kaylee Vander Wal had seven assists. 

Allison Thielsen tallied a match-high 22 digs and two service aces for Dakota State.  Johnson added seven digs.

Martin, Tessa Weeldreyer and Kirstin Johnson each had two block assists for the Trojans.

Emily Wineinger and Olivia Harris each had 10 kills for Clarke.  Allison Roth earned 21 assists.

Cali Beyer recorded 18 digs for the Crusaders.  Ashley Smith had 10 digs.  Harris had five block assists.

Clarke hit .266 in the match compared to Dakota State .119.  The Crusaders had 44 kills with 15 errors in 109 attempts.  The Trojans recorded 31 kills with 17 errors in 118 attempts.

CU had 14 block assists and two block solos while DSU had 10 blocks and a solo block.

Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 3, Dakota State (S.D.) 0 – FINAL

The Tigers and Trojans went through 16 ties in the opening set.  Tied at 23-23, DWU scored the final two points from a service ace and an attack error by DSU for a 25-23 first set victory.

DSU opened up the second set by scoring three straight attacks by Weeldreyer, Kirstin Johnson and Rozell for a 3-0 lead.  DWU answered back with a 10-1 scoring run for a 10-4 lead.  The Trojans could not get no closer than five points at 11-6 and 12-7 as Dakota Wesleyan sealed the second set 25-17 for a 2-0 match lead.

Dakota State was held to .061 hitting percentage in the second set (10 kills with 8 errors in 33 attempts) while DWU hit .375 with 15 kills with 3 errors in 32 attempts.

The Tigers raced to a 5-1 lead in the third set and never looked back for a 25-19 victory, sealing the match in three straight sets.

Rozell led the Trojans with nine kills.  Weeldreyer added eight kills.  Kirstin Johnson had five kills.

Vander Wal had 11 assists for DSU.  Rachel Johnson had 10 assists. 

Davis garnered a match-high 21 digs for Dakota State. 

DSU's Weeldreyer had four solo blocks and two block assists.

Lauren Tadlock had 18 kills for the Tigers.  Dana Misiaszek added nine kills.

Michelle Van Epps produced 22 assists for DWU.  Emily Pengilly had 18 assists. 

Maggie Stehly had 12 digs for Dakota Wesleyan.  Taylor Spence recorded 10 digs.  Sammy Fluck had three block assists.

DWU outhit DSU 41-27 in the match.  The Tigers recorded a hitting percentage of .179 (21 errors in 112 attempts) compared to the Trojans' .111 (17 errors in 90 attempts).

Dakota Wesleyan collected six service aces while Dakota State did not have a service ace.  The Trojans had nine blocks while the Tigers had six blocks.

Dakota State looks to bounce back in the winning column Thursday as they continue to stay busy on the road.  The Trojans visit Briar Cliff (Iowa) in a non-conference match at Newman Flanagan Center in Sioux City, Iowa before playing four matches in the College of Saint Mary-Grace (Neb.) tournament next weekend.

There will be a junior varsity match at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity match at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director