November 1, 2019

Photo credit by Waldorf (Iowa) Sports Information

FOREST CITY, Iowa – Dakota State (S.D.) shook off their slow start in the North Star Athletic Association volleyball contest versus host-team Waldorf (Iowa) Friday evening at Hanson Fieldhouse.  After losing the first set, the Trojans rallied back to defeat the Warriors in four sets to earn a season series sweep.

Set scores were 21-25, 25-23, 25-21 and 25-17.

Dakota State, receiving votes in the latest NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, improved to 17-10 overall record.  DSU's victory coupled with No. 13-ranked Bellevue's (Neb.) 3-1 road defeat at No. 6-ranked Viterbo (Wis.), moved into a tie for second-place in the conference standings with a 9-3 record.  Waldorf fell to 13-15 overall record and 4-8 NSAA conference record.

Dakota State is scheduled to play its final road regular-season schedule match Saturday afternoon, visiting the NSAA's conference leader Viterbo (Wis.).  First serve from the R.W. Beggs Senior Gymnasium is set for 1 p.m. in La Crosse, Wis.

(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) 3, Waldorf (Iowa) 1 – FINAL (21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-17)

• Waldorf opened the first set with an 8-3.  The Trojans rallied back to knot at 13-13 before the Warriors pulled away late.  At 19-19, WU closed the first with a 6-2 run for a 25-21 victory and 1-0 match lead. 
• The Trojans outhit the Warriors 13-10 in the first set but were held to .093 hitting percentage (9 errors in 43 swings).  WU hit .118 (6 errors in 34 attempts).
• Dakota State raced to a 7-4 lead, thanks to a kill by three different players with a kill each (Samantha Zell, Barbara Briceno and Riley Grandpre.  Waldorf would answer with a 5-1 run to earn a 9-8 lead.  The Trojans then scored six straight points to regain their lead to 14-9.
• Waldorf rallied back to tie the second set at 23-23.  A kill by Zell followed by WU's attack error gave Trojans a 25-23 set two victory and evened the match at 1-1.
• DSU roared to a 5-1 lead in the third set before WU rallied back with in one point at 6-5.  Holding a 12-10 lead, the Trojans went on a 7-2 scoring surge to widen their lead to 19-12 after Zell's kill.  Waldorf would answer back with a 7-1 run to cut DSU's lead to 20-19.
• Dakota State closed the third set with a 5-2 run, capped by Hanna Jellema's kill to give Trojans a 2-1 match lead.  DSU outhit WU 13-11.  The Trojans hit .167 (8 errors in 30 attempts), while the Warriors recorded a .161 hitting percentage (6 kills in 31 swings).
• The Trojans stormed to a 16-6 lead in the fourth set and never looked back to secure the victory.  DSU took advantage of 15 Warriors' attack errors for a 25-17 victory. 
• Zell led Dakota State's offense attack with 11 kills and smashed a match-best .345 hitting percentage.  She had a match-high seven blocks (1 solo, 6 assist).  Briceno and Jellema each added 10 kills.  Grandpre tallied six kills and six blocks (2 solo, 4 assist).
• Nicole Sarringar sparked the Trojans' offense with 21 set assists.  She also had nine digs.  Rachel Johnson added 16 assists.  Peyton Groft had 12 digs and three service aces.  Kelsey Pearson registered five block assists.
• Savanna Cordle led the Warriors with 13 kills.  Abygail Wood and Kyra Platzek each added eight kills.  Elisabeth Tramm had a double-double of 35 assists and 13 digs.  Kelsey Sederquest collected 14 digs and three service aces.  Adreanna Vetter added 12 digs.
• Dakota State outhit Waldorf 45-44 in the match.  The Trojans hit .126 (28 errors in 135 attempts) and held the Warriors to .074 hitting efficiency (34 attack errors in 136 attempts. 
• The Trojans recorded 13 team blocks (3 solo, 20 assist) compared to the Warriors five blocks (10 block assists).  DSU had nine service aces, while WU had six aces.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director