October 7, 2022

FOREST CITY, Iowa – Dakota State (S.D.) fell behind 2-0 Friday evening at Hanson Fieldhouse in the North Star Athletic Association volleyball action with Waldorf (Iowa).  The Trojans stormed back to force the fifth set for the second straight match, holding off the Warriors 15-13 in the deciding set for a 3-2 thriller.

Dakota State improved to 13-12 overall record and concluded the first half portion of the North Star's conference schedule with a 3-4 record.  Waldorf suffered their third straight defeat, falling to 9-6 overall record and 1-5 NSAA conference record.

The Trojans step aside their North Star Athletic Association play Wednesday evening, returning home at DSU Fieldhouse after their six-match road stretch.  Dakota State welcomes rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) in the annual Dig Pink match, starting with the junior varsity match at 5 p.m. followed by the varsity match at 7 p.m.  Fans are encouraged to wear prink colors clothing to the volleyball match.

Waldorf wraps up their first half portion of the conference schedule at home versus No. 14 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) Saturday afternoon.

(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) 3, Waldorf (Iowa) 2 – FINAL (23-25, 15-25, 25-12, 25-21, 15-13)

• Waldorf kicked off the game with a 5-1 lead, while the Trojans answered with a 7-1 outburst capped by back-to-back kills by Sydney Schell for an 8-6 lead.
• Knotted at 11-11, the Warriors went on a 6-0 scoring run, highlighted by three different hitters recording a kill (Abygail Wood, Zoee Pond, and Lania Yurs).
• Trailing 21-13, DSU mounted a comeback with an 8-1 outburst to cut Waldorf's lead to 22-21 after Schell's kill.
• Waldorf scored the next two points to set up a set point opportunity at 24-21.  Dakota State saved two set point chances and could not tie at 24-24 as WU held on to a 25-23 victory and 1-0 match lead.
• DSU outhit WU 16-10 in the first set.  The Trojans committed 10 attack errors in 49 swings (.122 hitting percentage) while the Warriors hit .143 (5 errors in 35 attempts).
• Waldorf quickly jumped to a 4-0 lead in the second set and never trailed to grab a 2-0 match lead.  Dakota State could get no closer than four points at 11-7 after a block by Riley Grandpre and Hannah Viet.
• The Warriors pounded out 18 kills to earn a 25-15 victory, extending their match lead to 2-0.  The Warriors hit .455 (3 errors in 33 swings) compared to the Trojans .207 hitting percentage (8 kills with 2 errors in 29 attempts).
• Down 6-4 in the third set, Dakota State went on a monstrous 15-3 scoring run to grab an 18-9 lead.  A block by Vanessa Schroeder and Schell gave the Trojans an 18-9 lead.
• The Trojans extended their scoring run to 21-6, closing with a 25-12 victory after Brooklyn Grage's kill.  DSU trailed the match at 2-1 and extended the match into the fourth set.
• Dakota State hit an impressive .360 in the third set (10 kills with 1 error in 25 attempts).  Waldorf was held to .000 hitting percentage with 10 kills and 10 errors in 33 swings).
• DSU started the fourth set with a 4-1 lead before the Warriors regained their lead at 12-11 after Charlotte Wright's kill.
• The Warriors committed an attack error to give the Trojans a 17-13 lead, forcing WU to burn a timeout.
• Holding a slim 18-17 lead, Dakota State went on a 5-1 run to widen their lead to 23-18 after Grandpre's kill.  The Warriors could get no closer than three points at 23-20 and 24-21. 
• The Trojans forced the fifth and deciding set after the Warriors hit a service error, winning 25-21 and knotted the match at 2-2.
• DSU outhit WU 17-12 in the fourth set.  The Trojans hit .317 (4 errors in 41 attempts) and held the Warriors to .171 hitting percentage (5 errors in 41 swings).
• Dakota State and Waldorf battled back and forth through a closely tight fifth set with 10 ties, five lead changes, and a lead no greater than two points by WU at 6-4.
• Tied at 12-12, the Warriors committed an attack error followed by Madalyn Groft's kill gave the Trojans a match point at 14-12.
• Pond smashed a kill as the Warriors saved DSU's match point at 14-13.  DSU called a timeout.
• Schell secured the match after smashing a kill for a 15-13 victory, ending their six-match road trip with a 3-2 thriller.
• The Trojans had 10 kills and hit .241 in the deciding set.  The Warriors had nine kills and hit .152.
• Schell packed Dakota State with a double-double of 16 kills and 14 digs.  She hit .279 in the match.  Schroeder tallied career-highs of 10 kills, hit .562, and 10 blocks.  Her 10 blocks tied for second most single-match blocks in the DSU volleyball record book.  Viet recorded 12 kills.  Grage had 11 kills.
• M. Groft produced a double-double of 14 set assists and 13 digs for DSU.  She also had eight kills.  Maddi Langerock contributed 36 set assists and four assists. 
• Peyton Groft led the Trojans' defense with 23 digs.  Jenna Frank had two service aces.  VonnaGail Schlechter registered nine digs.  Macy Wetsch added seven digs.
• Schell had six blocks for Dakota State.  Viet added four blocks.  Grage and M. Groft each recorded three blocks.
• Kenzie Kidd led the Warriors with a double-double of 19 kills and 20 digs.  Wood added 16 digs and hit .375.  Pond had seven kills.
• Kaitlyn Bakke posted 47 set assists for Waldorf.  Kaylee Kidd had 15 digs and seven assists.  Alisha Schaefer had 16 digs.
• DSU outhit WU 61-59 in the match.  The Trojans hit .237 (20 errors in 173 swings) compared to the Warriors .183 hitting percentage (27 errors in 175 attempts).
• Waldorf was 90.7 percent from the serving line, hitting two aces and committing nine errors in 97 serves.  Dakota State was 89.2 percent from the serving line with three aces and 11 errors in 102 attempts.
• DSU racked up 14 blocks in the match (28 block assists).  WU recorded three blocks (6 block assists).

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director