October 12, 2024

BELLEVUE, Neb. – (RV) Dakota State (S.D.) produced a season-high 16.5 blocks and took advantage of Grand View's (Iowa) 38 attack errors, earning a 3-1 victory (21-25, 25-20, 25-17, and 25-19) in the second match of the Marvel Bruin Classic at Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.  The Marvel Classic was hosted by North Star Athletic Association's fellow Bellevue (Neb.). 

Dakota State improved their overall record to 14-8 and earned their second straight victory over the Vikings in the same tournament (defeated Grand View in last year's Marvel Classic).  Grand View, a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference, fell to 8-12 overall record.

DSU wrapped up their non-conference schedule with an 11-6 record.

The Trojans kick off their second half portion of the North Star Athletic Association schedule Thursday, hosting No. 7 ranked Bellevue (Neb.).  The first serve is set for 6 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse.

(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) 3, Grand View (Iowa) 1 – FINAL (21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-19)

Both teams exchanged a series of runs through a roller coaster first set.  With DSU leading 6-5, GVU went on a 5-0 scoring run to earn a 10-6 lead after a service ace by Peyton Cook.  The Vikings' lead grew to 16-8 after a 6-2 run capped by a kill from Brooklyn Order for a 16-8 lead.

Dakota State answered with a 6-1 outburst to cut Grand Views' lead to 17-14 in the first set, highlighted by a block from Gwendolyn Vongkasemsiri and Hailey Wathen.

The Trojans could get no closer than two points at 22-20 after a block from Sydney Schell and Tristyn Maras in the first set.

Ellie Dougherty smashed a kill as Grand View secured the first set at 25-21 and earned a 1-0 match lead.

The Vikings outhit the Trojans 14-9 in the first set.  Both teams struggled offensively, with GVU hitting .125 (8 errors in 48 attempts) and DSU hitting .054 (7 errors in 37 attempts).

Grand View erupted for four straight points to start the second set, capped by a service ace from Chevy Wagner-Chun.  Dakota State rallied back to knot the second set at 11-11 after Hailey Wathen's kill.

Trailing 14-13, the Trojans went on a 9-2 outburst to overtake a 22-16 lead.  DSU never trailed for the rest of the second set, tying the match 1-1 after a 25-20 set two victory.

Dakota State hit .216 in the second set (11 kills with three errors in 37 swings) and held Grand View to .022 hitting percentage.  The Vikings smashed 12 kills but committed 12 attack errors in 45 attempts.

At 2-2, Wathen's kill sparked DSU's 8-0 outburst to open a 10-2 lead.  Dakota State's lead grew to 18-5 after using a 7-0 scoring run.  During the scoring run, the Trojans collected kills from three different hitters (Tristyn Maras, Sydney Schell and three kills from Gwendolyn Vongkasemsiri) along with a service ace from Logan Conlin for an 18-5 lead.

Maras smashed a kill to close the third set with a 25-17 victory, giving Dakota State a 2-1 match lead.

Dakota State outhit Grand View 14-10 in the third set.  The Trojans hit .222 (6 errors in 36 swings) and held the Vikings to .026 hitting percentage (9 errors in 39 attempts).

A block from Hannah Evans and Maras opened an 8-4 lead in the fourth set for DSU and never trailed.  Dakota State lead as many as seven points twice and went on to secure a 25-19 victory.

The Trojans outhit the Vikings 15-13 in the fourth set.  DSU registered a hitting percentage of .289 (4 errors in 38 swings) and held GVU to .100 hitting percentage (9 errors in 40 attempts).

Wathen, Brooklyn Grage, and Maras led the Trojans' balanced offense attack with nine kills each.  Schell and Vongkasemsiri each added eight kills. 

Madalyn Groft posted a double-double of 19 set assists and 13 digs for Dakota State.  Maddi Langerock added 22 assists and eight digs. 

Kate VanRooyan paced DSU's defense with 19 digs.  Schell added 15 digs and six blocks.  Vongkasemsiri collected eight blocks.  Maras recorded five blocks.  Wathen had three blocks. 

Roder led the Vikings with 14 kills.  Sydney Beasley added 12 kills and three blocks.  Kaylee Stalder had seven kills.  Jenna Bentz produced 44 set assists.  Wagner-Chun had 19 digs and two service aces. Maiah Kalima-Izumi had 15 digs.  Cook registered three service aces.

Grand View smashed 50 kills in the match compared to Dakota State 49 kills.  The Trojans hit .196 (20 errors in 148 attempts), while the Vikings were held to .070 hitting percentage (38 attack errors in 172 swings).

Both teams registered 70 digs.