November 2, 2019
La CROSSE, Wis. – North Star Athletic Association volleyball conference leader and No. 6-ranked Viterbo (Wis.) outhit Dakota State (S.D.) 66-37 Saturday afternoon, posting a 3-1 victory at R.W. Beggs Gymnasium. The V-Hawks cruised the first set 25-13 before the Trojans evened up the match after winning the second set 25-20. VU went on to win the final two sets by the scores of 25-16 and 25-19.
Dakota State, receiving votes in the latest NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, fell to 17-11 overall record and 9-4 record in North Star conference (fell to third-place in the conference standings). Viterbo secured the NSAA volleyball regular-season title and No. 1 seed for the postseason tournament on Nov. 15-16 in Watertown, S.D. The V-Hawks extended their winning streak to eight matches and raised their overall record to 28-5 and 12-1 NSAA conference record.
Dakota State plays its final home regular-season match on Friday evening. The Trojans welcome No. 13-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) in a key North Star conference match. First serve is set for 7 p.m., with seniors being honored prior to the match at DSU Fieldhouse.
(6) Viterbo (Wis.) 3, (RV) Dakota State (S.D.) 1 – FINAL (25-13, 20-25, 25-16, 25-19)
- Dakota State grabbed an 8-6 early lead in the first set before Viterbo used a monstrous scoring run. The V-Hawks used a 13-2 scoring run – with 10 points counting as a kill – to earn a 19-9 commanding lead. VU hit .429 in the first set (21 kills with 3 errors in 42 swings), cruising to a 25-13 victory and 1-0 match lead. DSU was held to .152 hitting percentage (8 kills with 3 errors in 33 attempts).
- The Trojans and the V-Hawks battled back-and-forth in the first 16 rallies, knotting at 8-8. DSU pulled away with a 5-1 scoring run to open a 15-10 lead, thanks to four attack errors committed by the V-Hawks.
- VU trimmed DSU's lead to 20-18 in the second set. The Trojans then scored four straight points to earn a set point at 24-18 after a service ace by Maddie Polzin. After Viterbo scored two points, Samantha Zell closed the second set with a kill for a 25-20 victory, evening the match at 1-1.
- Dakota State hit .269 in the second set (10 kills with 3 errors in 26 swings). Viterbo was held to .054 hitting efficiency with 13 kills and committed 11 attack errors in 37 attempts.
- Leading 9-8 in the third set, the V-Hawks stormed with a 9-0 run – including four straight kills by Miah Garant – to widen their lead to 18-8. Viterbo never looked back as they earned a 2-1 match lead after a 25-16 victory, outhitting the Trojans 18-7.
- The V-Hawks roared to a 10-1 lead in the fourth set. The Trojans ended the scoring drought with two straight kills by Barbara Briceno (DSU trailed 10-3). Dakota State could get no closer than four points at 18-14 as Viterbo held on to a 25-19 victory and 3-1 match.
- Briceno tallied 12 kills and hit .360 in the match for DSU. Zell added nine kills and recorded a hitting percentage of .318. Rachel Johnson contributed 17 set assists. Nicole Sarringar had 14 set assists.
- Polzin, Briceno and Sarringar each had a service ace for the Trojans. Peyton Groft collected 10 digs. Briceno had nine digs. Zell registered four block assists. Kelsey Pearson added three block assists.
- Garant sparked the V-Hawks' offense attack with a match-high 24 kills. She hit .378. Maya Roberts added 12 kills and hit .346. Katie Frohmader smashed 11 kills.
- Lauryn Sobasky produced 32 set assists and collected nine digs for the V-Hawks. Abbey Johnson added 21 assists. Rachel Frankowski had 16 digs. Jenna Phillips and Adrianna Reinhart each had 11 digs.
- Sobasky led VU with three service aces. Reinhart and Johnson each had two service aces.
- Viterbo hit .301 in the match (23 errors in 143 swings) compared to Dakota State .187 hitting percentage (14 errors in 123 attempts).
- The Trojans registered a service percentage of 95.9 percent (3 aces and 3 errors in 74 serves). The V-Hawks were 92.6 percent from the serving line (8 aces and 7 errors in 94 attempts).
- DSU recorded six team blocks, while VU had four team blocks. The V-Hawks collected 64 digs compared to the Trojans 38 digs.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director