April 6, 2021

BELLEVUE, Neb. – Dakota State (S.D.) and Bellevue (Neb.) met in the North Star Athletic Association volleyball postseason's semifinals for the third consecutive year Tuesday at Gordon Lozier Center.  The top-seeded Bruins used a balanced offense attack with five different hitters with double-digits kills, defeating the fourth-seeded Trojans in four sets by the scores of 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, and 25-11.

Dakota State, who defeated Bellevue in the past two seasons in the NSAA semifinals to reach the championship match, finished their season with an overall record of 14-10.  The Trojans hit double-digit victories for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons, as well as winning record for the third consecutive year.

Bellevue, ranked No. 15 in the latest NAIA Volleyball Coaches Top 25 national poll, lifted their overall record to 16-4.  The Bruins will host third-seeded and No. 20-ranked Viterbo (Wis.), who defeated second-seeded Mayville State (N.D.) in a thrilling five-set match in Mayville, N.D. (18-16 in the fifth set), in the NSAA volleyball postseason tournament's championship match on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.

(15) Bellevue (Neb.) 3, Dakota State (S.D.) 1 – FINAL (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-11)

• Dakota State hit off the match by scoring three straight points after a kill by VonnaGail Schlechter and Maddie Polzin, capping with a service ace by Madalyn Groft for 3-0 DSU lead.
• With DSU leading 4-1, the Bruins scored five straight points highlighted by back-to-back kills each by Coree Lipovsky and Eve Fountain for a 6-4 lead.
• At 16-13, Bellevue sparked a 6-0 scoring run to widen their lead to 22-13 after an attack error by the Trojans. 
• Trailing 24-16, DSU saved four set point chances by the Bruins with a 4-0 run to cut Bellevue's lead to 24-20.  Jacki Apel smashed a kill to secure a 1-0 match lead for BU after a 25-20 victory.
• Bellevue hit .317 in the first set (18 kills with 5 errors in 41 swings) and limited Dakota State to .128 hitting efficiency (10 kills with 5 errors in 39 attempts).
• DSU and BU battled back and forth with six ties in the early second set.  Holding a slim 12-11 lead, the Trojans roared with a 7-0 scoring outburst to grab an 18-11 lead.
• The Bruins fueled a 6-1 run after calling a time out, trimming DSU's lead to 19-17 in the second set.
• Polzin would close the second set with a kill to give DSU a 25-23 victory, evening the match at 1-1.
• Dakota State smashed 16 kills and hit .160 (8 errors in 50 swings) in the second set.  Bellevue tallied 15 kills and registered a hitting efficiency of .239 (4 errors in 46 attempts).
• BU opened the third set with a 10-4 lead, capped by a kill by Sierra Athen and forced the Trojans to call a timeout.
• Down 13-6, DSU mounted a comeback with a 9-2 outburst to cut BU's lead to 16-15 after a kill by McKenna Kranz.
• At 19-18, the Bruins closed the third set with a 6-1 scoring run for a 25-19 victory and regained their match lead at 2-1.
• Both teams' offense shine in the third set, with the Bruins hitting .441 (17 kills with 2 errors in 34 attempts) while the Trojans hit .333 (14 kills with 2 errors in 36 swings)
• Bellevue stormed to a 5-0 lead in the fourth set, thanks to a kill by four different hitters (Fountain, Athen, Lipovsky and Olivia Galas).  The Bruins continued its scoring surge as they ballooned their lead to 10-2 after a kill by Apel.
• Dakota State could get no closer than six points at three different occasions in the fourth set – 10-4 after an attack error by BU, 12-6 after a kill by M. Groft and 13-7 after a kill by Polzin.
• Bellevue closed the match with a 12-4 scoring run for a 25-11 set four victory, thanks to their .306 hitting percentage (14 kills with 3 errors in 36 attempts).  DSU was held to minus .103 hitting percentage (5 kills with 9 errors in 39 attempts).
• Schlechter posted a double-double of 10 kills and collected 12 digs for Dakota State.  M. Groft added a double-double of 29 set assists and tallied 14 digs.  She also had six kills and two block assists.  Polzin recorded eight kills and 14 digs. 
• Hannah Viet registered seven kills and four blocks (1 solo, 3 assists) for the Trojans.  Kranz had six kills.  Peyton Groft tallied 14 digs.  Tayler Corey also had 10 digs.
• Fountain sparked the Bruins' offense attack with 17 kills and hit .293 in the match.  She collected a double-double with 14 digs.  Apel added 11 kills and three block assists.  Athen had a double-double of 10 kills and 13 digs.
• Lipovsky smashed 10 kills and registered a match-high .588 hitting percentage for Bellevue.  She had three block assists.  Galas contributed a match-high 52 set assists and recorded a double-double with 13 digs.  She also had four blocks (1 solo, 3 assists).  Sienna Black registered 11 kills and three block assists.
• The Bruins smashed 64 kills and hit .318 (14 errors in 157 swings) in the match.  The Trojans recorded 45 kills and hit .128 (24 errors in 164 attempts).
• BU had eight team blocks (2 solo, 12 assists) compared to DSU five blocks (1 solo, 8 assists).
• Bellevue collected 83 digs compared to Dakota State 70 digs. 

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director