October 9, 2020

Photos credit by Donald Weidler

MADISON, S.D. – The Dakota State University Trojan volleyball team returned to action for the first time in nearly three weeks Friday evening.  The Trojans kicked off their five-match North Star Athletic Association conference home stand, surviving a five-set thriller over Waldorf (Iowa) at DSU Fieldhouse.

Set scores were 25-18, 16-25, 25-20, 19-25 and 15-13. 

It was the conference season opener for the Trojans, who have not played since Sept. 19 at College of Saint Mary (Neb.).  DSU raised their overall record to 5-3 and 1-0 NSAA conference record.  Waldorf fell to 1-8 overall record and remained wineless in six North Star conference contests (0-6 NSAA record).

Dakota State (S.D.) 3, Waldorf (Iowa) 2 – FINAL (25-18, 16-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13)

• The Warriors jumped to a 4-1 lead over the Trojans in the opening set.  Trailing 12-9, Dakota State went on a 6-2 scoring spurt to earn a 15-14 lead after a kill by Maddie Polzin (assisted by Madalyn Groft).
• Tied at 16-16, DSU stormed to a 9-2 closing run to secure a 1-0 match lead.  Abagail Van Ruler recorded two blocks and closed the first set with a kill for a 25-18 victory.
• DSU hit .154 in the first set (9 kills with 5 errors in 26 swings) and limited WU to .031 hitting percentage (10 kills with 9 errors in 32 attempts). 
• Waldorf raced to a 7-2 early lead in the second set, thanks to back-to-back service aces by Kaylee Kidd. 
• The Warriors never trailed in the second set as they cruised to a 25-16 win to even the match at 1-1.  WU outhit DSU 13-6 in set.  The Warriors hit .211 (5 errors in 38 attempts) while holding the Trojans to .000 hitting percentage (6 errors in 32 attempts).
• After a pair of attack errors by Waldorf to give DSU a 2-0 lead, the Warriors went on a 5-0 scoring run to open a 5-2 lead highlighted by a back-to-back service aces by Trinity Perez.
• The Trojans answered with a monstrous 11-1 scoring outburst to grab a 13-6 lead.  A block assist by Madalyn Groft and Hannah Viet gave DSU its biggest lead of the third set at 18-9.
• DSU hit .233 in the third set (11 kills with 4 errors in 30 swings), holding off WU's late comeback for a 25-20 victory and regained a 2-1 match lead.  Waldorf was limited to .000 hitting efficiency (10 kills with 10 errors in 38 attempts).
• Knotted at 5-5, the Warriors went on a 6-0 scoring run highlighted by back-to-back service aces by Kenzie Kidd and a pair of kills by Alisha Schaefer for an 11-5 lead.
• Dakota State could get no closer than four points at 21-17.  Waldorf secured the fourth set 25-19 and forced the match into the fifth and deciding set.
• WU outhit DSU 13-7 in the fourth set.  Both teams struggled offensively, with WU hitting .085 (9 errors in 47 swings) and DSU hitting .000 (7 errors in 38 attempts).
• Trailing 5-4 in the deciding set, the Warriors used a 4-0 scoring run after a kill by Kenzie Kidd followed by three consecutive attack errors by the Trojans.  The Trojans were forced to use their first timeout as WU led 8-5.
• Coming out of the timeout, the Trojans exploded for an 8-2 scoring run to earn a 13-10 lead after a block assist each by Viet and Abagail Grabowska.
• The Warriors scored the next three points (kill by Abygail Wood followed by an attack error by the Trojans and a kill by Ariel Pindegayosh) to tie the fifth set at 15-15.
• WU committed a service error to give DSU a match point at 14-13.  The Warriors committed a set error to end the match, giving the Trojans a 3-2 thriller.
• WU outhit DSU 7-4 in the final set.  The Warriors hit .087 (5 errors in 23 attempts) compared to the Trojans minus .043 hitting percentage (5 errors in 23 swings).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Polzin led the Trojans' offense attack with 15 kills.  She also had three service aces, five block assists and seven digs.  Madalyn Groft posted a double-double of 16 set assists and tallied 11 digs.  She also had seven kills and two block assists.
• Van Ruler recorded seven block assists and five kills for Dakota State.  Viet had six block assists and four kills.  Amy Uher registered four block assists.
• Nicole Sarringar contributed 13 set assists and seven digs for DSU.  Tayler Corey had 16 digs and a service.  Peyton Groft collected 15 digs. 
• Kenzie Kidd sparked the Warriors with a double-double of 15 kills and 20 digs.  Wood and Charlotte Wright each had 10 kills.  Pindegayosh added nine kills.  Alisha Schaefer had eight kills.
• Trinity Perez tallied 18 digs for Waldorf.  Kaylee Kidd had 16 digs and four service aces.  Kaitlyn Bakke produced a double-double of 48 set assists and 14 digs. 
• Kenzie Kidd, Bakke and Perez each recorded two service aces for WU.  Wright had five block assists.

TEAM COMPARISONS

• Waldorf smashed 53 kills compared to Dakota State 37 kills.  The Warriors committed 38 attack errors in 178 swings (.084 hitting percentage), while the Trojans had 27 attack errors in 149 swings (.067 hitting efficiency).
• DSU was 96 percent from the serving line, recording eight service aces and four errors in 100 serves.  WU was 85.1 percent from the service line.  The Warriors tallied 11 service aces but committed 15 attack errors in 101 swings.
• The Warriors collected 81 digs compared to the Trojans 72 digs.
• Dakota State recorded 14 team blocks (28 block assists), while Waldorf had 10 team blocks (2 solo blocks, 16 block assists).

UP NEXT

Dakota State continues their five-match home stand Saturday, hosting Viterbo (Wis.).  First serve is set for 1 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse.

Waldorf concludes their first-half portion of the North Star Athletic Association conference schedule Saturday, visiting Bellevue (Neb.).  The match is held at Gordon Lozier Athletic Center in Bellevue.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director