October 14, 2017

Photo credits by Donald Weidler

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) grabbed a 2-0 match lead over No. 19-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) Saturday afternoon in the North Star Athletic Association volleyball contest at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans were unable to secure the victory as the Bruins mounted a furious comeback for a 3-2 thriller.  BU won by the scores of 25-27, 22-25, 25-9, 25-16 and 15-11.

Dakota State fell to 6-20 overall record and 3-7 NSAA conference record.  Bellevue halted their two-match losing skid, lifting their overall record to 21-6 and 7-2 record in North Star conference play.

FIRST SET

The Trojans and Bruins went through a see-saw battle in the opening set, featuring 14 ties and 8 lead changes.  Tied at 23-23, Kaylee Spreier smashed a kill to give DSU a 24-23 lead.  BU answered back after back-to-back kills by Hope Lambrecht and Andrea Carson for a 25-24 lead.

Coming out from the timeout called by the Trojans, Samantha Zell made a kill (assisted by Kendra Steffen) to tie the first set at 25-25.  The Trojans earned back their lead at 26-25 after a set error by Bruin Maddie Squiers.

Dakota State won the first set at 27-25, thanks to an attack error by Bellevue's Carson.  DSU earned a 1-0 match lead.

The Trojans outhit the Bruins 15-14 in the first set.  DSU registered a hitting percentage of .186 (7 errors in 43 attempts) compared to BU .159 hitting efficiency (7 errors in 44 attempts).

SECOND SET

Both team went through 10 ties and 5 lead changes in the second set.  Tied at 18-18, Dakota State exploded for a 5-1 scoring run – where Zell and Bailee Steffensen each produced two kills during the scoring run – to open up a 23-19 lead. 

Bellevue could get no closer than two points at 24-22 as they committed an attack error by Mikaylah Gillespie, giving the Trojans a 2-0 match lead after a 25-22 victory.

DSU recorded an impressive hitting percentage of .314 (15 kills with 4 errors in 35 attempts).  BU hit .200 (14 kills with 5 errors in 45 attempts).

THIRD SET

Bellevue roared to a 13-3 lead in the third set and never look back, cruising to a 25-9 set three victory and extended the match into the fourth set.  The Bruins exploded with .550 hitting percentage (12 kills with 1 error in 20 attempts) while holding the Trojans to negative .115 hitting efficiency.  DSU had six kills, but committed nine errors in 26 attempts.

FOURTH SET

Dakota State raced to a 4-0 lead in the fourth set, recording three kills from three different players – Carly Rozell, Jazmayne Williams and Spreier.  After the Bruins cut Trojans' lead down to 5-4, DSU used a 4-0 scoring run to grab a 9-4 lead and forced Bellevue to burn their first timeout.

Bellevue answered by scoring six straight points to earn their first lead of the fourth set at 10-9.  Knotted at 10-10, the Bruins stormed with a 7-0 spurt to expand their lead to 17-10. 

BU used a strong 15-6 scoring run to close the fourth set for a 25-16 victory, forcing the fifth and deciding set.

Bellevue outhit Dakota State 13-7 in the fourth set.

FIFTH SET

Bellevue raced to a 4-0 lead in the fifth set and never looked back.  The Bruins had the largest lead at 6-1.  The Trojans could get no closer than two points at 11-9 as the Bruins secured the fifth set with a 15-11 victory.

BU hit .167 in the deciding set (6 kills with 3 errors in 18 attempts) while DSU recorded a hitting percentage of .038 (5 kills with 4 errors in 26 attempts).

Bellevue outhit Dakota State 31-18 in the final three sets of the match.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Spreier, Rozell and Zell each smashed 11 kills for Dakota State.  Zell recorded a hitting percentage of .300.  Rozell posted a double-double with 15 digs.  She also had two service aces.  Williams had eight kills.  Steffensen had seven kills and a service ace.

Rachel Johnson added a double-double of 25 set assists and 11 digs for the Trojans.  Steffen added 16 assists and 8 digs.

Steffensen led DSU's defense with 18 digs.  Alwaise Villa added 10 digs.  Sperier and Rozell each had two block assists.

Four BU players recorded double-digit kills, led by Lambrecht with 13 kills and hit .379.  Shayla Scanlan added 12 kills and recorded a hitting percentage of .323.  Gillespie had 11 kills.  Carson had a double-double of 10 kills and 12 digs.

Maddie Squiers contributed a double-double of 48 assists and 21 digs for Bellevue. 

Taylor Holz registered 24 defense for Bruins' defense.  Gillespie and Lambrecht each had five block assists.  Squiers and Scanlan added four block assists.

Carson and Squiers each recorded two service aces for the Bruins. 

Bellevue outhit Dakota State 59-48 in the match.  The Bruins hit .218 (23 errors in 165 attempts) compared to the Trojans' .108 hitting percentage (30 errors in 166 attempts). 

BU was 91.9 percent from the serving line with 7 aces and 9 errors in 111 attempts.  DSU was 91 percent from the serving line (3 aces with 8 errors in 89 attempts).

Bellevue registered 12 blocks compared to Dakota State 3 blocks.  The Bruins had 82 digs while the Trojans had 75 digs.

UP NEXT

Dakota State will have a week off from their North Star Athletic Association conference play next week.  The Trojans conclude their three-match home stand at DSU Fieldhouse Thursday evening as they host in-state rival Mount Marty (S.D.).  The junior varsity match starts at 6 p.m., followed by a varsity match at 7:30 p.m.

Bellevue will play in a North Star conference triangular on Tuesday in Forest City, Iowa.  The Bruins will face the top-ranked team Viterbo (Wis.) at 4 p.m., followed by another North Star conference match versus host-team Waldorf (Iowa) at 6 p.m.  Both matches will be at the Hanson Fieldhouse.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director