October 30, 2021

PHOTO GALLERY:  Junior Varsity - Varsity - Photos credit by Cody Welu

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) played its fourth match in five days Saturday afternoon, hosting Mayville State (N.D.) in the North Star Athletic Association home finale at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans outhit the Comets 51-31 in the match, sparking to their fourth straight 3-0 sweep victory.

Dakota State closed out their home schedule, completing a 6-2 record.  It was the fourth consecutive year that the Trojans had registered a home court winning record at DSU Fieldhouse.  DSU, receiving votes in the latest NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, raised their overall record to 19-6.  The Trojans moved into a tie for third place in the NSAA conference standings with Valley City State (N.D.), each with 8-4 record.

Mayville State fell to 13-14 overall record and 3-9 in NSAA conference.  DSU completed its NSAA season series sweep over MSU.  Dakota State won the junior varsity match, sweeping Mayville State in three straight sets (27-25, 25-15, and 15-13), finishing 6-5 record on the season.

The Trojan volleyball team recognized their parents and seniors prior to the match.  Five seniors were recognized – Maddie Polzin, Tacey Fischbach, Peyton Groft, Hannah Viet, and Nicole Sarringar. Tacey Fischbach was unable to attend today's match due to an injury.

Dakota State closes out their regular-season schedule next weekend on the road, visiting Waldorf (Iowa) on Friday.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Hanson Fieldhouse in Forest City, Iowa.  DSU plays its final regular season match next Saturday at No. 2 Viterbo (Wis.).

(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) 3, Mayville State (N.D.) 0 – FINAL (25-17, 25-22, 25-18)

• Tied at 2-2, Mayville State scored five straight points with a kill from three different hitters – Ashley Pyburn, Elora Passa, and Cora Johnson.  The Comets led 7-2 and forced the Trojans to call its first timeout of the first set.
• The Trojans answered with an 7-2 run to knot the first set at 9-9, forcing the Comets to call their first timeout.
• A kill by Pyburn helped MSU knot the first set for the sixth time at 16-16.
• The Trojans went on an 8-0 furious scoring run, highlighted with Polzin's three kills and Hannah Viet's two kills.  A block assist by Polzin and Viet set up the set point chance as the Trojans led 24-16.
• Viet smashed a kill to grab a 1-0 match lead after winning the first set 25-17 for Dakota State.
• The Trojans hit .229 in the opening set (14 kills with 6 errors in 35 swings).  The Comets were held to .056 hitting efficiency (10 kills with 8 errors in 36 attempts).
• DSU kicked off the second set with a 3-0 lead after three consecutive errors by MSU.  The Trojans stretched its lead to 7-2 after a block assist by Vanessa Schroeder and Riley Grandpre and never trailed.
• Mayville State trimmed Dakota State's lead to 22-21 after a kill by Nicole Kortan.
• The Trojans extended their match lead to 2-0 after Schroeder smashed a kill for a 25-22 set two victory.
• Holding a slim 15-14 lead in the third set, DSU went on a 4-0 scoring run to balloon their lead to 19-14 after a kill by Sydney Schell.
• The Comets could get no closer than three points at 19-16 with a kill by Rachel Hill.
• Schroeder and Grandpre each registered a block to close the match at 25-18, securing a 3-0 match victory for Dakota State.
• DSU outhit MSU 18-10 in the third set.  The Trojans hit an impressive .333 (4 errors in 42 swings) compared to the Comets .156 hitting percentage (5 errors in 32 swings).
• Polzin fueled Dakota State's offense with 17 kills and hit .389.  She also had two blocks.  Schell and Viet each added 11 kills.  Viet registered a hitting percentage of .421, while Schell recorded a hitting efficiency of .235.  Viet collected three blocks.
• Schroeder tallied five blocks and five kills for the Trojans.  Madalyn Groft posted a double-double of 21 set assists and 10 digs.  Nicole Sarringar added 18 set assists.  Grandpre had three blocks.  Peyton Groft recorded 19 digs. 
• Lily Pyle and Pyburn each smashed seven kills for Mayville State.  Rian Richards had five kills.  Passa produced 14 set assists and nine digs.  Hill had eight set assists and five digs.
• Kortan, Johnson and Pyburn each had two blocks for MSU.  Natalie Hadrava tallied 16 digs.
• Dakota State hit .252 in the match (17 errors in 135 swings) compared to Mayville State .105 hitting percentage (19 errors in 114 swings). 
• The Comets recorded a perfect serving percentage (100 percent) in 59 serves.  The Trojans hit a service percentage of 94.5 percent with four errors in 73 attempts.
• DSU had 56 digs compared to MSU 51 digs.  The Trojans recorded eight blocks to Comets four blocks.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

2021 DSU Volleyball Seniors Day