October 3, 2021

PHOTO GALLERY - Photos credit by Cody Welu

MADISON, S.D. – Valley City State (N.D.) rallied back from a 2-1 match deficit at DSU Fieldhouse, defeating Dakota State (S.D.) in five-set thriller Sunday afternoon.  Set scores were 23-25, 25-23, 10-25, 25-20, and 15-8.

The Trojans fell to 10-4 overall record, where they saw their four-match winning streak halted.  The Vikings improved to 6-13 overall record.  Both teams are 3-2 record in North Star matches.

DSU heads on the road for a non-conference tilt with in-state rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) Tuesday evening.  The junior varsity match starts at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity match at 7:30 p.m.  Both matches will be held at Christian Athletic Center in Mitchell on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan. 

Valley City State returns home Wednesday as they host Mayville State (N.D.) in the North Star Athletic Association contest.  First serve is set for 7 p.m.

Valley City State (N.D.) 3, Dakota State (S.D.) 2 – FINAL (23-25, 25-23, 10-25, 25-20, 15-8)

• Both teams went through nine ties and five lead changes in the first set.
• Trialing 10-9, the Trojans went on a 5-0 scoring tear to open a 14-10 lead after a kill by Madalyn Groft (assisted by Nicole Sarringar).
• VCSU rallied back to knot the first set at 18-18 after an attack error by DSU.
• Down 22-21, the Trojans closed the first set with a 4-1 run to secure a 25-23 victory and 1-0 match lead.
• DSU outhit VCSU 16-14 in the opening set.  The Trojans hit .239 (5 errors in 46 swings) compared to the Vikings .152 hitting percentage (7 errors in 46 attempts).
• Leading 9-8 in the second set, Maddie Polzin sparked a pair of kills during DSU's 3-0 run to widen their lead to 12-8 and forced VCSU to burn their first timeout.
• A kill by M. Groft gave the Trojans a 23-20 lead.  The Vikings roared back to score the final five points of the second set (25-23), thanks to back-to-back blocks from Bailey Nelson, Makayla Wetzel, Katie Juarez followed by a service ace by Lexi Leroux and a kill by Nelson.
• VCSU hit .206 (13 kills with 6 errors in 34 swings) in the second set to even the match at 1-1.  DSU registered .176 hitting percentage (13 kills with 7 errors in 34 attempts).
• Tied at 3-3 in the third set, the Trojans went on a 4-0 scoring tear capped by a block by Polzin for a 7-3 lead.
• Polzin hit back-to-back service aces as DSU's lead grew to 16-6 in the third.
• Dakota State closed the third set with three straight points from blocks by Taryn Tacheny and Riley Grandpre for a 25-10 win and earned a 2-1 match lead.
• The Trojans dominated the third set with an amazing .714 hitting percentage with 15 kills in 21 swings and committed no attack errors.  VCSU was held to .038 hitting efficiency with 8 kills and 7 errors in 26 attempts.
• Valley City State used a fast start in the fourth set, highlighted by three different hitters (Nelson, Wetzel, and Sadie Hansen) recording a kill to grab a 6-2 lead.
• VCSU's lead ballooned as many as eight points at 18-10 after a kill by Nelson, forcing DSU to burn a timeout.
• With VCSU leading 24-16, the Trojans saved four set points to cut their lead to 24-20 after a kill by M. Groft. 
• Nelson smashed a kill to force the fifth and deciding set for the Vikings, winning 25-20. 
• Valley City State outhit Dakota State 18-8 in the fourth set.
• At 6-5 in the fifth set, the Vikings took advantage of three straight attack errors by the Trojans to widen their lead to 9-5. 
• Polzin ended the scoring drought with a kill as DSU trailed 9-6.
• Valley City State went on a 4-0 scoring tear to extend their lead to 13-6, capped by a kill by Caitlyn Fischbach. 
• The Vikings secured the victory as the Trojans committed their 11th service error in the match, posting a 15-8 victory.
• VCSU hit .350 in the fifth set (7 kills in 20 swings with no attack errors) and held DSU to .083 hitting percentage (6 kills with 4 errors in 24 attempts).
• M. Groft led the Trojans' offense attack with 16 kills.  She also produced a double-double with 26 set assists.  Polzin added 12 kills and two service aces.  Grandpre had 11 kills and hit .529 in the match.
• Sydney Schell smashed eight kills for DSU.  Hannah Viet had six kills.  Sarringar contributed a double-double of 23 assists and 11 digs.
• Peyton Groft led Dakota State's defense with 22 digs.  Polzin had nine digs.  Viet collected six blocks.  M. Groft and Grandpre each had three blocks. 
• Nelson paced the Vikings' offense with 18 kills.  Fischbach added 13 kills.  Brooke Blessum had 11 kills.  Hansen produced 50 set assists and seven digs.
• Juarez had seven kills and 14 digs for VCSU.  Wetzel had nine kills and three blocks.
• Kallene Klever tallied 25 digs for Valley City State. 
• VCSU outhit DSU by two kills, 60-58.  The Trojans hit better with .261 efficiency (17 attack errors in 157 attempts).  The Vikings recorded .192 hitting percentage (28 attack errors in 167 swings).
• Valley City State was 92.8 percent from the serving line with four aces and seven errors in 97 serves.  Dakota State was 89.2 service percentage with five aces and 11 errors in 102 serves.
• Both teams collected 71 digs in the match. 
• The Trojans registered 10 blocks compared to the Vikings five blocks.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director