#24 Volleyball 8/23/2023 12:30:00 AM Nick Huntimer, Dakota State (S.D.) Sports Information Director

DSU continues non-conference volleyball action this week, hosts cross-over Saturday

Trojans travel to Morningside (Iowa) before their home opener Saturday

August 22, 2023

GAME NOTES (PDF)

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Aug. 22, 2023)—Dakota State (S.D.) (1-1 overall record) continues their non-conference schedule with three matches this week. The Trojans will face three different teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference, currently on a seven straight match stretch against GPAC foes.

DSU heads to RVSC-Allee Gym (3415 Peters Ave.) to take on Morningside (Iowa) (2-2 overall record). The junior varsity plays at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity match at 7 p.m. in Sioux City, Iowa.

Dakota State hosts the North Star Athletic Association/Great Plains Athletic Conference Cross-Over on Saturday. The Trojans face Dordt (Iowa) (0-0 overall record) at 11 a.m. and in-state rival Mount Marty (S.D.) (4-0 overall record) at 5 p.m. NSAA's fellow Mayville State (N.D.) (0-0 overall record) takes on Dordt in their season opener at 1 p.m., followed by a match against Mount Marty. All matches will be held at DSU Fieldhouse in Madison (1302 N. Washington Ave.).

DSU kicked off their season with a 1-1 record in the Northwestern (Iowa) triangular on Aug. 19, falling to the host and nationally-ranked team in three straight sets. The Trojans earned their first win by dominating Briar Cliff (Iowa) in three straight sets. Morningside began their season with 2-2 record in the La Sierra (Calif.) Tournament on Aug. 17-18. Dordt and Mayville State are playing their season openers on Saturday. Mount Marty went 4-0 record in the Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) tournament on Aug. 18-19.

Next Up: Dakota State concludes their three-match home stand on Tuesday as they host rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.). The junior varsity plays at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity match at 7 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse. The Trojans prepare to kick off the month of September as they compete in the College of Saint Mary (Neb.) Labor Day Classic at United Sports Academy in North Sioux City, S.D., on Sept. 1-2.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) is 1-1 record versus Great Plains Athletic Conference foes this season.
+ The Trojans had won the previous two meetings with Morningside (Iowa), with the most recent meeting at DSU Fieldhouse in three straight sets on Sept. 15, 2022.
+ DSU defeated the Mustangs in a five-set thriller in both teams last meeting held at RVSC-Allee Gym in Sioux City, Iowa, on Sept. 17, 2021.
+ Dordt (Iowa) defeated Dakota State in the College of Saint Mary (Neb.) Labor Day Classic in North Sioux City, S.D. on Sept. 2, 2022, in four sets.
+ DSU and Dordt will meet for the second meeting of the season six days later after Saturday. Both teams will play at United Sports Academy in the College of Saint Mary Labor Day Classic on Sept. 1.
+ Dakota State extended their winning streak to 10 matches in the series meeting with Mount Marty (S.D.), with the most recent meeting in Yankton on Oct. 4, 2022, with a 3-0 victory.
+ DSU had won 28 times in last 36 matches with the Lancers. The Trojans and MMU will meet for the second meeting at Cimpl Arena on Oct. 17.
+ The Trojans had won eight straight home meetings with Mount Marty since 2014.

NSAA/GPAC Volleyball Cross-Over at DSU Fieldhouse
Madison, S.D. (Aug. 22, 2023)—Four teams will invade the DSU Fieldhouse on Saturday in the North Star Athletic Association/Great Plains Athletic Conference Cross-Over.

Two teams from the NSAA—host-team Dakota State (S.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.)—takes on two teams from the GPAC—Dordt (Iowa) and Mount Marty (S.D.).

The tournament schedule opens with the Trojans taking on the Defenders at 11 a.m.. Dordt will face Mayville State in the second match of the tournament, tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. The Comets continue their action at 3 p.m. versus Mount Marty (S.D.) The tournament wraps up with the Lancers facing the Trojans at 5 p.m.

Dordt and Mayville State are playing their season openers on Saturday at DSU Fieldhouse. There will be a live video of all four matches via through Dakota State Athletics' YouTube page and live stats via through PrestoStats on dsuathletics.com.

(5) Red Raiders roll past Trojans in season opener
Orange City, Iowa Aug. 19, 2023)—Dakota State (S.D.) kicked off the season in the Northwestern (Iowa) triangular at Bultman Center, falling to host-team and nationally-ranked No. 5 Northwestern (Iowa). Despite close sets in each of the first three sets, the Red Raiders pulled away late to sweep the Trojans in three straight sets.

NWIA won by the set scores of 25-14, 25-9, and 25-10. The Trojans and the Red Raiders went through four ties and two lead changes in the opening set before Northwestern went on a 16-5 closing first set run.

The Trojans could not get in offense rhythm in the second set as the Red Raiders scored 13 straight points to explode for an 18-5 lead and never looked back. DSU trimmed NWIA's lead to 7-6, but the Red Raiders went on a 9-0 scoring run and never trailed.

Hailey Wathen, Madalyn Groft, and Sydney Schell each recorded four kills for the Trojans. The Red Raiders held DSU's offense to 15 kills in the match. Julia Drietz led DSU's defense with nine digs.

Northwestern hit .305 in the match compared to Dakota State negative .076 hitting percentage. The Red Raiders tallied seven service aces, while the Trojans had one service ace (Hannah Thorsen). NWIA accumulated 10 blocks to DSU two blocks.

Dakota State continues dominance of Briar Cliff (Iowa)
Orange City, Iowa (Aug. 19, 2023)—Dakota State (S.D.) earned their first win of the season by continuing their dominance of Briar Cliff (Iowa) in the Northwestern (Iowa) triangular at Bultman Center. The Trojans extended their winning streak to five matches in the series meeting with the Chargers, earning a three straight sets sweep.

After a 16-16 tie, DSU used a late run to secure a 1-0 match lead after a 25-20 victory. The Trojans extended their match lead to 2-0 after recording an identical score of 25-20, thanks to their .260 hitting percentage in the second set and held BCU to .021 hitting percentage.

DSU never trailed in the third set and held off the Chargers' late rally for a 25-21 win and 3-0 match win.

Sydney Schell paced the Trojans' offense attack with 11 kills and added a double-double with 11 digs. Madalyn Groft added a double-double of 24 set assists and 10 digs. Hannah Evans smashed eight hills and earned two blocks. Maddi Langerock tallied three service aces. Kate VanRooyan had 14 digs.

Dakota State had 39 kills compared to Briar Cliff 33 kills. Both teams had six service aces.

Trojans continue busy non-conference schedule
Madison, S.D. (Aug. 22, 2023)—Dakota State (S.D.) continues their busy non-conference schedule before their North Star Athletic Association season. The Trojans are playing their second straight Saturday with two matches.

Dakota State then will play another weekend of preseason tournament on Sept. 1-2 at United Sports Academy with four matches from three different NAIA's conferences (two matches on each day). DSU wraps up their preseason tournament on Sept. 8-9 as they play three matches in the Viterbo (Wis.) Tournament in La Crosse.

The Trojans open their North Star Athletic Association play on Wednesday, Sept. 13, as they visit their traveling partner Bellevue (Neb.). DSU continues their North Star conference play on Sept. 21 at home versus Viterbo (Wis.) and Sept. 23 versus Waldorf (Iowa).

DSU concludes the month of September with the NSAA contest at Mayville State (N.D.) on Sept. 27.

2023 DSU Trojan Volleyball Team Leaders

Kills/Kills Per Set: Sydney Schell - 15 kills / 2.5 kills per set
Assists/Assists Per Set: Madalyn Groft - 29 assists / 4.8 assists per set
Digs/Digs Per Set: Kate VanRooyan - 19 digs / 3.2 digs per set
Total Blocks: Gwendolyn Vongkasemsiri - 4 blocks / 0.7 blocks per set
Service Aces/Aces Per Set: Maddi Langerock- 3 service aces / 1.0 aces per set