August 19, 2023

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Dakota State University Trojan volleyball team kicked off their 2023 season, playing a pair of Great Plains Athletic Conference foes in the Northwestern (Iowa) triangular Saturday at Bultman Center. 

After being swept by host-team Northwestern (2-0 overall record) in the first match, the Trojans (1-1 overall record) continued their dominance in the series meeting with Briar Cliff (Iowa). 

Dakota State continues their action against members of the GPAC conference Wednesday evening, staying on the road to visit Morningside (Iowa).  The junior varsity match starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity match at 7 p.m.  The matches will be held at RSVC-Allee Gym in Sioux City, Iowa.

Match 1:  No. 5 Northwestern (Iowa) 3, Dakota State (S.D.) 0 – FINAL (25-14, 25-9, 25-10)

The NAIA preseason nationally ranked No. 5 Northwestern limited Dakota State's offense to 15 hits in the match, earning a 3-0 sweep.  The Red Raiders tallied 41 kills, 10 blocks, and seven service aces to earn 25-14, 25-9, and 25-10 set victories.

DSU and NWIA recorded four ties and two lead changes in the early going of the first set.  After falling 5-1, the Trojans went on a 5-1 scoring run to knot the score at 6-6 after an attack error by the Red Raiders.

Dakota State took the first lead at 8-7 after Hailey Wathen's kill in the first set.

Tied at 9-9, Northwestern surged with a 16-5 closing run for a 1-0 match lead after a 25-14 victory.

The Trojans' offense could not get in rhythm in the second set as the Red Raiders scored 13 straight points after holding a 5-3 lead into an 18-5 lead.  NWIA hit .345 in the second set and held DSU to minus .161 hitting percentage.

Dakota State trimmed Northwestern's lead to 7-6 after a 3-0 scoring run, capped by a block assist by Gwendolyn Vongkasemsiri and Wathen.  The Red Raiders answered with a 9-0 run outburst and never trailed to secure the match.

Wathen, Madalyn Groft, and Sydney Schell each tallied four kills for the Trojans.  Groft produced five set assists and seven digs.  Keira Murdock had three set assists.  Hannah Thorsen registered a service ace.

Julia Drietz led DSU's defense with nine digs.  Thorsen and Kate VanRooyan each added five digs.  Wathen, Hannah Evans, Vongkasemsiri, and Brooklyn Grage each recorded one block.

Jazlin De Haan sparked the Red Raiders offense attack with 15 kills and hit .306.  She posted a double-double with 13 digs.  Liv Reitsma added a double-double of 24 assists and 13 digs.  Olivia Granstra collected 15 digs.

Match 2:  Dakota State (S.D.) 3, Briar Cliff (Iowa) 0 – FINAL (25-20, 25-20, 25-21)

Dakota State earned their first win of the season by sweeping Briar Cliff by the scores of 25-20, 25-20, and 25-21.  The Trojans earned their fifth straight victory in the series meeting over the Chargers, with the previous three meetings that resulted in a 3-0 sweep.

Knotted at 9-9, DSU went on a 4-0 run capped by Maddi Langerock's service ace for a 14-9 lead in the first set.  After the Chargers rallied back to tie the first set at 16-16, the Trojans scored the next five points to widen their lead at 21-16 after Groft's kill.  DSU grabbed a 1-0 match lead after winning 25-20.

BCU raced to a 4-0 opening lead in the second set, highlighted by back-to-back service aces by Olivia Corey.  Trailing 9-5, DSU stormed back by using an 8-1 scoring run for a 13-10 capped by a kill from Wathen.

The Trojans extended their match lead to 2-0 after recording an identical first set score (25-20).  DSU hit .260 in the second set with 15 kills and committed only two attack errors in 50 swings.  BCU was held to .021 hitting percentage (11 kills with 10 attack errors in 48 swings).

Dakota State never trailed in the third set, leading as many as nine points.  Leading 12-8, the Trojans went on a 7-1 scoring tear to balloon their lead to 18-9 after Schell's kill.  DSU withdrew BCU's 5-0 ate surge to trim their lead at 24-21 before Groft closed the match with a kill at 25-21.

Schell finished the game with a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs for the Trojans.  Groft added a double-double of 24 set assists and 10 digs.  She also had seven kills and two blocks.  Hannah Evans smashed eight kills and recorded two blocks.  Murdock had five kills. 

Langerock led DSU with three service aces.  VanRooyan tallied 14 digs to pace the Trojans' defense.  Sophia Vanden Bosch recorded eight digs.

Toria Andrew led the Chargers with 10 kills.  Yenne Schepers and Corey each had 14 set assists.  Avery Beller led the defense with 17 digs, while Corey had 12 digs. 

DSU had 39 kills compared to BCU 33 kills.  The Trojans registered seven blocks, while the Chargers had two blocks.  Both teams had six service aces and 31 set assists.