October 26, 2018

MADISON, S.D. – After dropping the first set Friday evening at DSU Fieldhouse, Valley City State (N.D.) held Dakota State (S.D.) lower than .100 hitting percentage to earn a 3-1 key North Star Athletic Association volleyball conference match.  The Vikings won by the scores of 21-25, 25-11, 25-18 and 25-21.

DSU, which kicked off their five-match home stand, fell to 14-11 overall record.  VCSU also is 14-11 overall record and moved into a sole possession for third-place in the conference standings with a 7-4 record.  The Trojans are fourth with 6-4 NSAA conference record.

Valley City State swept the season series with Dakota State.

FIRST SET

At 8-7, Dakota State pulled away past Valley City State with a 6-1 scoring run for a 14-8 lead.  The Trojans recoded a kill by four different hitters during the scoring run (Kaylee Spreier, Anna Schwint, Barbara Briceno and Samantha Zell).

The Vikings trimmed the Trojans' lead down to 16-14, but DSU answered with a 5-1 run to extend their lead to 21-15.  VCSU could get no closer than two points again at 23-21 as Dakota State secured a 1-0 match lead.  Briceno smashed a kill to give DSU a set point at 24-21.  Maddie Polzin and Zell each recorded a block assist to secure a 25-21 victory.

DSU hit .256 in the opening set with 15 kills and 5 errors in 39 attempts.  VCSU registered a hitting efficiency of .132 (12 kills with 7 errors in 38 attempts).

SECOND SET

Valley City State cruised in the second set, opening up with a 9-3 lead and never looked back.  The Vikings smashed 12 kills (.321 hitting percentage) and added five service aces (three aces by Hailie Wilds and two aces by Leah Ruter) to earn a 25-11 victory and evened the match at 1-1.

Dakota State recorded a negative .038 hitting percentage with 5 kills and 6 errors in 26 swings.

THIRD SET

Dakota State held the lead early in the third set, but Valley City State used a late scoring run to take a 2-1 match lead.  The Trojans lead 6-3 before the Vikings used a 7-2 scoring run to gain a 10-8 lead.

VCSU continued its scoring run, stretching their lead to 19-13.  VCSU won the third set by the score of 25-18, thanks to DSU's 10 attack errors.  Valley City State hit .214 (10 kills with 4 errors in 28 attempts) compared to Dakota State .033 hitting percentage (11 kills with 10 errors in 30 attempts).

FOURTH SET

The Vikings opened up the fourth set with a 5-1 lead and ballooned to 10-4 over the Trojans.  Trailing 12-5, DSU scored five straight points to cut VCSU's lead to 12-10.

Holding a slim 15-14 lead, Valley City State exploded for a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 20-14.  Dakota State could get no closer than two points at 23-21 as the Vikings closed the match by scoring the final two points for a 25-21 victory.

VCSU hit .256 in the fourth set (14 kills with 4 errors in 39 attempts).  DSU was held to .095 hitting efficiency (10 kills with 6 errors in 42 swings).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Briceno led the Trojans' offense attack with 12 kills and hit .310 in the match.  She posted a double-double with 13 digs.  Spreier added eight kills.  Polzin smashed seven kills.

Nicole Sarringar produced 17 set assists and recorded 7 digs for DSU.  Rachel Johnson added 15 assists and 7 digs. 

Alwaise Villa collected a match-high 19 digs for Dakota State.  Spreier registered two service aces.  Zell had four block assists a solo block.  Polzin and Schwint each had two block assists.

Katie Juarez and Paige Benson each tallied 12 kills for VCSU.  Clarissa Olson added 10 kills.  Autumn Johnson and McKinley Putnman each had six kills. 

Ruter posted a double-double of 29 assists and 10 digs for the Vikings.  Reagan Ingstad added 11 assists.

Ruter and Wilds each led Valley City State with three service aces.  Wilds recorded 17 digs.  Charlotte Huschka had 12 digs.  Olson produced five block assists.  Johnson had three block assists.

VCSU outhit DSU 48-41 in the match.  The Vikings hit .226 (18 errors in 133 swings).  The Trojans committed 27 attack errors in 137 attempts for a hitting efficiency of .102.

Valley City State recorded eight service aces, but committed 12 service errors for a service percentage of .874.  Dakota State had two service aces and seven errors in 76 serves (90.8 percent).

The Vikings had 10 team blocks (2 solo, 16 assists) compared to the Trojans 8 team blocks (3 solo, 10 assists).

UP NEXT

Dakota State continues their home stand Saturday afternoon, hosting Dickinson State (N.D.) in another North Star Athletic Association conference action.  First serve is set for 1 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse.

Valley City State heads south as they visit Bellevue (Neb.) in the North Star conference action.  The match is set for 1 p.m. at Gordon Lozier Center.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director