October 19, 2017

PHOTO GALLERY:  JUNIOR VARSITY - VARSITY - Photo credits by Cody Welu

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) smashed 52 kills Thursday evening, fueling to a 3-1 non-conference volleyball victory over in-state rival Mount Marty (S.D.) at DSU Fieldhouse.  DSU won by the set scores of 25-21, 25-22, 21-25 and 25-15.  The Trojans took the season series (2-1 record) over the Lancers.

Dakota State concluded their three-match home stand with a 2-1 record, lifting their overall record to 7-20.  Mount Marty is 8-15 overall record and lost their seventh straight match.

DSU won the junior varsity match in three sets over MMC (25-18, 16-25 and 15-11).

FIRST SET

Dakota State and Mount Marty went through a see-saw battle in the opening set, with the lead no more than two points by both teams.  At 15-14, the Trojans scored three consecutive points to open up an 18-14 lead before the Lancers burned their first timeout.

Leading 20-17, MMC answered back with a 4-0 spurt to regain their lead at 21-20.  The Trojans would use a strong closing outburst by scoring the final five points of the first set for a 25-21 victory and 1-0 match lead.  Carly Rozell had two kills, while Bailee Steffensen added a kill and a service ace by Rachel Johnson to close the first set for the Trojans (5-0 scoring run).

DSU outhit MMC 15-8 in the first set.  The Trojans hit .205 (7 errors in 39 attempts) while holding the Lancers to .094 hitting efficiency (5 errors in 32 attempts).

SECOND SET

Mount Marty raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set.  Falling behind at 9-4, Dakota State answered back with an 8-2 run to earn their first lead of the second set at 12-11. 

MMC earned an 18-15 lead, but DSU responded back with a 4-0 run to regained their lead at 19-18 – thanks to three consecutive attack errors committed by the Lancers.

Tied at 21-21, Dakota State used another strong closing run to extend their match lead to 2-0.  The Trojans closed the second set with a 4-1 run, thanks to three kills by Rozell and ended the second set with a service ace by Steffensen for a 25-22 victory.

DSU registered 14 kills, but committed 12 attack errors in 41 attempts (.049) in the second set.  MMC had 9 kills with 9 attack errors in 36 attempts (.000 hitting percentage).

THIRD SET

The Lancers used another fast opening run, storming to a 6-1 lead in the third set.  The Trojans answered by scoring five straight points to tie at 6-6.  Both teams went through a see-saw battle with the lead no more than two points.

Trailing 17-16, Mount Marty went on a 4-0 scoring run to earn a 20-17 lead.  Dakota State could get no closer than two points at 23-21 as the Lancers extended the match into the fourth set after a 25-21 win.

Both teams struggled offensively in the third set.  The Lancers recorded 9 kills with 8 errors in 39 attempts for a hitting percentage of .026.  The Trojans had 8 kills and committed 11 errors in 38 attempts for a negative .079 hitting efficiency.

FOURTH SET

Tied at 5-5 in the fourth set, Dakota State raced to an 11-5 lead after scoring six straight points.  Mount Marty could get no closer than three points at 13-10.  From there, DSU cruised with a 12-5 run to secure the match at 3-1 after a 25-15 victory.

Dakota State hit an impressive .400 hitting percentage in the fourth set (15 kills and just committed 3 errors in 30 attempts).  Mount Marty was held to .031 hitting efficiency (7 kills with 6 errors in 32 attempts).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Rozell posted a double-double of 17 kills and registered 13 digs for Dakota State.  She hit .233 in the match.  Kaylee Spreier smashed nine kills.  Jazmayne Williams and Samantha Zell each added eight kills. 

Rachel Johnson produced 27 set assists for the Trojans.  Kendra Steffen also had 17 assists.

Steffensen and Rozell each registered two service aces for DSU.  Williams collected 17 digs.  Steffensen had 16 digs.  Zell contributed five block assists.  Rozell had three block assists.  Spreier, Anna Schwint and Williams each had two block assists.

Rachel Reiff led the Lancers with 10 kills.  Elizabeth Watchorn added nine kills.  Laura Cattle had seven kills.

Lindsey Jaixen had 30 assists and 7 digs for Mount Marty.  Taylor Murtha led MMC's defense with 14 digs.  Maura Lysne added 13 digs.  Morgan Hay had 11 digs.

Mikaela Ahrendt recorded eight block assists for the Lancers.  Cattled had four block assists.  Lairssa Trainer and Reiff each added three assists.

Dakota State recorded .128 hitting percentage in the match (52 kills with 33 attack errors in 148 attempts) compared to Mount Marty .036 (33 kills with 28 errors in 139 attempts).

The Trojans were 90.5 percent from the serving line with 5 service aces and 9 errors in 95 attempts.  The Lancers registered a service percentage of 88.1 percent with 2 aces and 10 errors in 84 serves.

DSU had 70 digs while MMC had 59 digs.  The Lancers recorded 22 block assists (11.0 total blocks) compared to the Trojans 14 block assists (7.0 team blocks).

UP NEXT

Dakota State concludes their non-conference schedule with a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon.  The Trojans travel to Omaha, Neb. for a triangular at Jim Classen Gymnasium.  DSU faces Bethel (Kan.) in the first match at 3 p.m., followed by a contest against host-team Grace (Neb.) scheduled for 5 p.m.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director