November 4, 2017

MADISON, S.D. – Carly Rozell smashed a match-high 19 kills and surpassed the all-time kills as Dakota State (S.D.) held on to a 3-2 Senior Day thriller over Waldorf (Iowa) Saturday afternoon at DSU Fieldhouse.  The victory also sealed the final spot for the upcoming North Star Athletic Association Volleyball Conference Tournament, which is set to start next weekend in La Crosse, Wis.

Dakota State improved their overall record to 12-23 and 6-10 record in the North Star conference play.  Waldorf ended their season with an overall record of 5-27 and 2-14 NSAA conference record.

FIRST SET

The Warriors opened up with an 8-3 run, forcing the Trojans to burn their first timeout.  DSU then answered back by scoring four straight points – thanks to a pair of kills by Samantha Zell – to cut WU's lead to 8-7.

Trailing 12-8, Dakota State went on a 6-0 scoring outburst to earn their first lead of the first set at 14-12. 

With DSU leading 22-20, WU closed the first set with a 5-1 run for a 25-23 victory and gained a 1-0 match lead.

The Trojans outhit the Lancers 12-10, but Dakota State committed 10 attack errors in 39 swings (.051 hitting percentage).  The Warriors hit .094 (7 errors in 32 attempts).

SECOND SET

Holding a 9-7 lead in the second set, the Trojans widen their lead to 16-10 after using a 7-3 run.  At 18-12, Dakota State scored five consecutive points for the biggest lead of the set at 23-12 and never looked back.  DSU secured a 25-17 victory, tying the match at 1-1.

The Trojans hit .235 in the second set, recording 14 kills with 6 errors in 34 attempts.  The Warriors were held to .081 hitting percentage (9 kills with 6 errors in 37 attempts).

THIRD SET

Waldorf and Dakota State went through 12 ties and 10 lead changes in the third set.  Leading 22-21, the Trojans closed the third set with three straight points after a kill by DSU's Kaylee Spreier and a pair of attack errors by the Warriors.  DSU earned a 2-1 match lead after a 25-21 victory.

The Trojans pounded 17 kills in the third set, committing just 4 attack errors in 39 attempts (.333 hitting percentage).  The Warriors recorded a hitting efficiency of .243 (14 kills with 5 errors in 37 attempts).

FOURTH SET

Rozell set another milestone during her stellar four-year career, surpassing the all-time kills after recording her 15th kill in the match as the Trojans trailed 12-10 in the fourth set.  The Warriors would expand their lead to 18-12 and never look back.  DSU could not get any closer than two points at 22-20, as WU forced the fifth and deciding set after closing the fourth set with a 3-0 run.

Waldorf hit .200 (13 kills with 5 errors in 40 attempts) compared to Dakota State .091 hitting percentage (12 kills with 8 errors in 44 attempts).

FIFTH SET

The Trojans kicked off the deciding set with a 2-0 and widen their lead to 4-1, forcing the Warriors to call their first timeout.

DSU continued their scoring explosion by scoring four more points to widen their lead to 8-1.  During the scoring run, the Trojans got a pair of kills by Spreier and Jazmayne Williams as well as a kill by Maddie Polzin and Rozell.

The Warriors could get no closer than six points at 11-5 as the Trojans secured the victory by the score of 15-7.

Dakota State hit an impressive .381 hitting percentage in the fifth set with 9 kills and committed just 1 error in 21 attempts.  Waldorf was held to .095 hitting efficiency (6 kills with 4 errors in 21 swings).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Rozell had a double-double with 19 kills and 11 digs for the Trojans.  After the match today, she had smashed a total of 1,478 career kills at Dakota State.  Rozell surpassed the previous record holder by Micah Tolzin with 1,473 career kills from 2001-05.  Rozell played her final career collegiate home match at DSU Fieldhouse Saturday.

Spreier added 16 kills and hit .375 in the match.  Zell had 10 kills.  Williams recorded seven kills. 

Rachel Johnson and Kendra Steffen each produced 27 set assists and collected 9 digs for DSU.  Alwaise Villa led Dakota State's defense with 16 digs.  Polzin added 10 digs.

Spreier and Zell each registered five block assists for the Trojans.  Spreier also had a solo block.  Polzin and Rozell each added four block assists.    

Rozell earned two service aces for DSU.  Polzin, Johnson and Mallory Testerman each had a service ace.

Savanna Cordie paced the Warriors with 11 kills.  Rebecca Bartnicki and Kyra Platzek each had 10 kills.  Angie Gore and Mindy Poehler each had nine kills.  Katilyn Monck contributed 43 assists.

Erica Fee registered a match-high 20 digs for Waldorf.  Angie Gore added 15 digs.  Kelsey Sederquest had 12 digs.  Monck and Poehler each recorded two block assists.

Dakota State outhit Waldorf 64-52 in the match.  The Trojans hit .198 (29 attack errors in 177 attempts) compared to the Warriors .150 hitting efficiency (27 errors in 167 swings).

DSU was 95.4 percent from the serving line, recording five aces and five errors in 108 serves.  WU struggled at the serving line, registering a service percentage of .895 (6 aces with 10 errors in 95 attempts). 

The Trojans had 11 blocks while the Warriors had 3 blocks.

UP NEXT

Dakota State is the No. 6 seed for the North Star Volleyball Conference Postseason Tournament, which is scheduled for Friday and next Saturday at top-ranked Viterbo (Wis.).  The Trojans will face No. 3 seed Bellevue (Neb.) in the opening round, with the winner moving on to the semifinals round versus No. 2 seed Jamestown (N.D.).

The match times will be announced later.  The NSAA conference tournament is scheduled to be played at R.W. Beggs Gymnasium on the campus of Viterbo in La Crosse, Wis.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director