September 2, 2017

MITCHELL, S.D. – Host-team Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) hit .288 in the match in the night cap of the Corn Palace Classic Saturday evening, defeating Dakota State (S.D.) in four sets by the scores of 25-18, 21-25, 25-16 and 25-16.  DSU finished the day by going 1-2 record.

Dakota State is 1-7 overall record.  The Tigers improved to 6-3 overall record.

DWU opened up with a 19-8 lead in the first set and never looked back.  The Tigers won the first set by the score of 25-18 after hitting .457 (18 kills with 2 errors in 35 attempts).  The Trojans recorded a hitting efficiency of .250 (13 kills with 4 errors in 36 attempts).

Dakota State rallied back to take the second set 25-21.  Tied at 17-17, the Trojans closed the set with an 8-4 scoring run and evened the match at 1-1.  DSU outhit DWU 15-8 in the second set.

Dakota Wesleyan secured the match by winning the third and fourth sets by identical score of 25-16.  The Tigers hit .310 in the third set (12 kills with 3 errors in 29 attempts) and .259 in the fourth set (12 kills with 5 errors in 27 attempts).  DSU hit below .100 in the last two sets (.063 in the third set and .057 in the fourth set).

Three Trojans players hit double-digit kills.  Maddie Polzin and Carly Rozell each had 13 kills.  Samantha Zell tallied 10 kills.  Rachel Johnson had 21 assists, while Kendra Steffen added 17 assists.

Rozell led the Trojans defense with 13 digs.  Mallory Testerman added 11 digs.  Kaylee Sprier had three block assists.  Hanna Hovland registered a solo block and two block assists.

Rebecca Frick led the Tigers with a double-double of 15 kills and 13 digs.  Sydney Fritz added 10 kills and hit. 474 in the match.  Bridgett Knobbe produced 43 assists.  Knobbe and Fritz each recorded two service aces.

Darby Duncan had 18 digs for DWU.  Mallory Cooper collected 11 digs.

Dakota Wesleyan outhit Dakota State 50-48 in the match.  The Tigers committed just 14 attack errors in 125 attempts compared to the Trojans' .137 hitting percentage (28 attack errors in 146 attempts).

DWU had eight blocks while DSU had six blocks.

Dakota State plays their final preseason tune-up next weekend, playing four matches in the College of Saint Mary (Neb.)/Grace (Neb.) Tournament.  The Trojans play McPherson (Kan.) at 12 noon and Briar Cliff (Iowa) at 6 p.m. on Grace campus on Friday, Sept. 8.  On Saturday, Sept. 9, DSU concludes the tournament with contests versus host-team College of Saint Mary at 10 a.m. and William Penn (Iowa) at 2 p.m.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director