August 31, 2016

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Dakota State (S.D.) faced the NAIA Volleyball Preseason Top 25 nationally ranked team from the Great Plains Athletic Conference for the second time four days Wednesday evening, visiting No. 24-ranked Northwestern (Iowa) at the Bultman Center.  Through a see-saw battle that featured more than 25 ties in the match, the Red Raiders came on top by the scores of 26-24, 25-22 and 25-19.

Dakota State fell to 0-6 overall record, while Northwestern improved to 3-6 overall record.

There were a total of 11 ties in the opening set, with the lead no more than three points by the Red Raiders.  A kill by Kirstin Johnson broke a 23-23 tie into a set point at 24-23 for the Trojans, forcing NWIA to call its first timeout of the set.  The Red Raiders scored three unanswered points to gain a 26-24 victory and a 1-0 match lead.

Northwestern tallied 16 kills in the first set and a hitting percentage of .275 (5 errors in 40 attempts).  Dakota State recorded .229 hitting efficiency with 14 kills and 6 errors in 35 swings.

The second set was almost similar to the first set, where there were a total of eight ties in second set.  Leading 20-19, the Red Raiders went on a 4-1 scoring run to grab a 24-20 lead.  The Trojans could get no closer than two points at 24-22 as NWIA secured the second set with a 25-22 victory, extending their match lead to 2-0.

The Red Raiders outhit the Trojans 20-10 in the second set.  NWIA had a hitting percentage of .375 compared to DSU .265 hitting percentage.

Dakota State jumped to a 4-1 lead in the third set, thanks to a pair of service aces by Tessa Weeldreyer.  Northwestern answered back with a 4-1 run to tie the third set at 5-5.  Both teams went through seven ties in the early going before the Red Raiders widen their lead.  At 11-11, NWIA used an 8-3 run to open up a 19-14 lead.

DSU could get no closer than three points at 20-17 as the Red Raiders secured the third set 25-19, claiming a 3-0 match victory.  NWIA hit .324 (15 kills with 3 errors in 37 attempts), while DSU hit .132 (11 kills with 6 errors in 38 attempts).

Clarissa Blick led the Trojans with nine kills.  She had two block assists.  Weeldreyer added eight kills with a hitting percentage of .412.  She had two service aces and three block assists.  Carly Rozell smashed seven kills.  Johnson and Samantha Zell each recorded four kills.

Kaylee Vander Wal produced her third double-double of the season for Dakota State.  She registered 17 set assists and collected 13 digs.  McKenna DeMoe had 10 assists.

Chelsey Davis earned eight digs for DSU.  Blick added seven digs. 

Three Red Raiders recorded double digits kills, led by Andrea Horstman with 15 kills.  Lauryn Hilger added 12 kills, while Jessica Van Beek had 10 kills.

Jessa Doom posted a double-double of 40 assists and 10 digs for NWIA.  Jillian Estes led Northwestern's defense with 17 digs.

The Red Raiders outhit Trojans 51-35 in the match.  Both teams committed 13 attack errors, but NWIA hit .325 (117 attempts) compared to DSU .206 (107 attempts).

The Trojans recorded a near-perfect reception rate, recording .984 with one error in 63 receptions.  The Red Raiders suffered six errors in 52 receptions (DSU had six service aces in the match).

DSU had a service percentage of .866 (9 service errors in 67 attempts) compared to NWIA .865 service percentage (10 errors in 74 attempts).  The Trojans had five blocks compared to Red Raiders three blocks.

Dakota State returns home Tuesday evening as they host long-time rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.).  The non-conference match is set for 7 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director