November 5, 2022

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) wrapped up their 2022 regular-season schedule with a 3-1 North Star Athletic Association home victory over Waldorf (Iowa) Saturday afternoon at DSU Fieldhouse.  The victory also gave DSU its ninth straight win over WU in the series meeting, as well as their 12th win in the last 13 meetings.

Dakota State's overall record now stands at 17-16 and finished their home schedule with a 7-3 record.  The Trojans also moved in a tie for third place in the NSAA volleyball standings with Mayville State (N.D.), each with 7-7 record.  Waldorf finished their 2022 season with an overall record of 11-13 and 2-12 NSAA conference.  The Warriors are eliminated from the six-team NSAA conference tournament format.

It was the final home collegiate career match for DSU seniors – Jenna Frank, Riley Grandpre, Peyton Groft, Savannah Mares, Vanessa Schroeder, and Hannah Viet.

DSU opens their postseason play as a No. 3 seed Friday morning after owning a tiebreaker over Mayville State via on number of sets won in head-to-head meetings this season.  The Trojans face No. 6 seed Presentation (S.D.) in the first quarterfinal match with a 10 a.m. first serve at Civic Arena in Watertown, S.D.

Dakota State (S.D.) 3, Waldorf (Iowa) 1 – FINAL (30-32, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22)

• Dakota State and Waldorf went through a marathon in the first set, featuring 18 tie scores, 12 lead changes and a lead no greater than four points by WU.
• Charlote Wright smashed a kill to give Warriors a 22-18 lead in the first set.
• DSU answered with a 4-1 run, capped by Schroeder's kill to trim Waldorf's led to 23-22.
• A service error by the Trojans gave the Warriors a set point chance at 24-22.  The Trojans rallied back by scoring three straight points, thanks to Brooklyn Grage and Madalyn Groft with a kill each for 25-24 DSU lead.
• Dakota State and Waldorf tied and traded lead for the next 11 rallies.  At 30-30, Alicia Brandt smashed a kill followed by DSU's attack error secured a 32-30 thriller for WU.
• The Warriors outhit the Trojans 19-17 in the first set to earn a 1-0 match lead.  WU hit .175 (9 errors in 57 swings) compared to DSU .158 hitting percentage (8 errors in 57 attempts).
• Trailing 5-2 in the second set, Schroeder fueled Dakota State's 6-0 scoring run with back-to-back kills and a block for an 8-5 lead.
• At 12-11, DSU went on a 5-0 scoring run after Viet's kill to stretch their lead to 17-11.
• With the Trojans leading 22-17, Waldorf went on a 6-1 scoring run to knot the second set at 23-23 after Wright's kill. 
• Grage smashed back-to-back kills as the Trojans secured the second set at 25-23, evening the match at 1-1.
• DSU outhit WU 15-11 in the second set.  Both teams struggled offensively with the Trojans hitting .062 (11 errors in 64 swings) and the Warriors .056 hitting percentage (8 errors in 54 attempts).
• Tied 6-6 in the third set, Dakota State went on a 6-0 run to widen their lead to 12-6 after Sydney Schell's service ace.
• Waldorf answered with a 5-0 run to cut DSU's lead to 12-11 after a block each by Abgail Wood and Wright.
• DSU and WU tied the third set 12 times and traded leads three times.  At 22-22, Grandpre smashed a kill followed by Viet's kill and an attack error by the Warriors gave Dakota State a 25-22 victory.
• WU outhit DSU 15-12 in the third set.  The Warriors committed eight attack errors in 41 attempts (.171 hitting percentage).  The Trojans hit .120 with six errors in 50 swings.
• Viet smashed a kill to give Dakota State a 10-5 lead in the fourth set, forcing Waldorf to burn their first timeout.
• The Warriors trimmed the Trojans' lead to 16-15 after Zoee Pond's kill in the fourth.  Dakota State went on a 4-0 run to widen their lead to 20-16 after Maddi Langerock's service ace.
• Waldorf could get no closer than one point at 23-22.  Dakota State closed the fourth set by scoring the final two points.  Grandpre smashed a kill to close the match at 25-22, securing the victory.
• The Trojans outhit the Warriors 14-12 in the fourth set.  DSU hit .171 (8 errors in 35 swings) compared to WU .147 hitting percentage (7 errors in 34 attempts).
• Four Dakota State hitters recorded double digit in kills.  Schroeder, Schell, and Viet each tallied 11 kills.  Schell added a double-double with 18 digs.  She had three blocks.  M. Groft posted a triple-double of 10 kills, 24 set assists and 12 digs.  Grage added nine kills and three blocks.  Schroeder had four blocks.
• Viet collected seven blocks in the match, surpassing Samantha Zell for third all time blocks in Trojan volleyball program history.  Viet had amassed 362 blocks during her career (Zell – 355 career blocks).
• Langerock contributed a double-double of 23 set assists and 14 digs for DSU.  She had three service aces in the match.
• Peyton Groft recorded 19 digs for Dakota State.  She added three set assists.  VonnaGail Schlechter had 13 digs.
• Kenzie Kidd paced the Warriors with a double-double of 19 kills and 20 digs.  She hit .340 in the match.  Pond added 10 kills.  Laina Yurs and Wood each recorded seven kills.
• Kaitlyn Bakke registered a double-double of 27 set assists and 14 digs for Waldorf.  Emma Hovenga added 20 assists and nine digs. 
• Alicia Brandt had a match-high eight blocks for WU.  Wright added six blocks.  Kaylee Kidd collected 31 digs.
• Dakota State smashed 58 kills in the match compared to Waldorf 57 kills.  The Warriors hit .134 (32 attack errors in 186 swings) while the Trojans hit .121 (33 errors in 206 swings).
• DSU recorded a service percentage of 95.2 percent with four aces and five errors in 104 attempts.  WU was 92 percent at the serving ling with an ace and eight errors in 100 serves.
• Both teams recorded 11 blocks in the match. 
• The Warriors collected 97 digs compared to the Trojans 88 digs.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director