November 15, 2019

WATERTOWN, S.D. – No. 2 seed Dakota State (S.D.) faced No. 3 seed Bellevue (Neb.) for the second time in seven days Friday evening in the semifinal round of the 2019 North Star Athletic Association volleyball conference postseason tournament held at the Civic Center.  The Trojans survived after leading the match 2-0 and advanced to the championship match for the second straight year, upsetting No. 16-ranked Bruins in a five-set marathon thriller.

Set scores were 25-20, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25 and 15-11.  It was the fourth time in the last five meetings that the match was decided in the fifth set.

The victory lifted Dakota State's overall record to 19-11, matching its wins total from last season.  It was the fifth straight victory for the Trojans over the Bruins, with each match with BU being a ranked team in the NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 national poll.  DSU also completed its season series sweep over BU by going 3-0 record.

Bellevue, who swept No. 6 seed Waldorf (Iowa) in three straight sets by identical scores of 25-16, fell to 26-8 overall record.  The Bruins await to hear from the NAIA national office about their fate for the upcoming national tournament.

Dakota State faces the top-seeded No. 6-ranked Viterbo (Wis.) (30-5 overall record), who swept No. 4 seed Mayville State (N.D.) 3-0 in the second semifinal match, in the conference championship match for the second straight year.  First serve is set for 2 p.m.

(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) 3, (16) Bellevue (Neb.) 2 – FINAL

• Knotted at 5-5 in the early going of the first set, the Trojans used a 6-1 scoring surge to grab an 11-6 lead.  DSU took advantage of five BU's attack errors during the scoring run, with three block assists coming from Riley Grandpre and a block assist by Barbara Briceno, Hanna Jellema and Maddie Polzin.
• The Bruins could get no closer than three points in the first set, securing the victory for the Trojans by the score of 25-20.  Both teams smashed 11 kills.  Bellevue committed 12 attack errors in 41 swings (minus .024 hitting percentage).  Dakota State hit .242 (3 errors in 33 attempts).
• DSU and BU battled back-and-fourth in the second set, tying at 14-14 through 28 rallies.  The Bruins committed five consecutive attack errors to allow Trojans grab a 19-14 lead.  Bellevue then answered with a 5-0 run to knot at 19-19.
• Dakota State used a strong 6-1 closing run to extend their match lead to 2-0 after 25-20 set two victory.  Both teams struggled offensively, with the Trojans hitting .089 (10 kills with 6 errors in 45 attempts) compared to the Bruins .034 hitting percentage (13 kills with 11 errors in 58 swings).
• Trailing 10-8 in the third set, Bellevue went on an 8-1 outburst to earn a 16-11 lead.  The Trojans rallied back with a 6-1 run to tie at 17-17 after a block by Briceno.  Bellevue extended the match into the fourth set after using an 8-2 closing run for a 25-19 victory.
• The Bruins opened the fourth set with a 12-7 lead, extending to its biggest lead at 21-12.  DSU stormed back with a 6-1 run to cut BU's lead to 22-18.  The Trojans could get no closer than three points at 24-21 as the Bruins forced the fifth and deciding set after a kill by Corlee Lipovsky for a 25-21 victory.
• Neither team was able to establish a lead in the deciding set, going through six ties in the first 14 rallies.  Tied at 7-7, a kill by Grandpre followed by a kill by Jellema gave Dakota State a 9-7 lead before BU was forced to call a timeout.
• After a kill by BU Sierra Athen to trim DSU's lead to 9-8, Maddie Polzin smashed a kill followed by back-to-back attack errors widen the Trojans' lead to 12-8.  Following BU's final timeout, the Bruins scored three straight points (a pair of kills by Athen) to cut DSs lead to 12-11.
• Dakota State scored the final three points of the match, securing a 15-11 thrilling victory over Bellevue.
• DSU outhit BU 8-5 in the final set.  The Trojans hit .160 (4 errors in 25 attempts) while holding the Bruins to negative .037 hitting percentage (6 errors in 27 swings).
• Briceno posted a double-double of 11 kills and collected a career-high 30 digs for Dakota State.  Jellema added 11 kills.  Polzin had nine kills.  Kelsey Pearson tallied seven kills. 
• Rachel Johnson contributed a double-double of 21 set assists and 11 digs for DSU.  Nicole Sarringar added 20 assists and seven digs. 
• Samantha Zell recorded two service aces and six block assists for the Trojans.  Jellema added seven blocks (1 solo, 6 assist).  Grandpre had five blocks (1 solo, 4 assist).  DSU totaled a season-high 15 blocks in the match, accumulating a total of 28 team blocks in the last two matches with BU.
• Peyton Groft recorded 18 digs for DSU.
• Three BU players recorded double figure kills, paced by Athen with a double-double of 16 kills and 17 digs.  Lipovsky added 12 kills.  Nicole Meyer registered 10 kills.
• Olivia Galas sparked the Bruins' offense with 47 set assists and produced a double-double with 17 digs.  Madi Evans led BU with 25 digs.  Sidney Craig had 15 digs.  Paige Holdsworth tallied 12 digs.  Galas and Lipovsky each had four block assists.
• Bellevue outhit Dakota State 58-50 in the match.  The Trojans hit better than the Bruins, recording .124 (28 errors in 178 attempts).  BU was held to .090 hitting percentage, recording 40 attack errors in 200 attempts.
• DSU was 94.2 percent from the serving line with five aces and six errors in 104 serves.  BU was 94.1 percent from the serving line (three aces and six errors in 102 serves).

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Informatino Director