November 9, 2024

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) used a balanced offense Saturday afternoon to earn a 3-0 sweep over Mayville State (N.D.) in the North Star Athletic Association Women's Volleyball Postseason Tournament's quarterfinals at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans outhit the Comets 54-43 in the match, clinching their seventh consecutive home court winning record (5-3 home record).

Set scores were 25-18, 31-29, and 25-21.  The Trojans earned their fifth consecutive victory over the Comets in the series meeting.

Dakota State, receiving votes (RV) in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, earned their second straight win (defeated Mayville State in the regular season finale on Nov. 1 in Mayville, N.D.).  The Trojans, the third seeded team in the conference postseason tournament, raised their overall record to 17-11.

Mayville State ended their 2024 season with their 11^th consecutive defeat, finishing at 8-19 overall record. 

DSU will be making their sixth appearance in the NSAA Women's Volleyball Postseason's semifinal round for the sixth time in the last seven years next weekend.  The Trojans will face No. 2 seed and NAIA's fourth-ranked Jamestown (N.D.) in the first semifinal match at Gordon Lozier Athletic Center in Bellevue, Neb.  The first serve is set for 5 p.m.

No. 1 seed and NAIA's No. 6 ranked Bellevue hosts No. 4 seed Valley City State (N.D.) in the second semifinal match on Friday evening at 7 p.m.  Friday's winners will move on to the championship match next Saturday at 2 p.m., with the winner receiving the league's automatic bid to the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Tournament Opening Round on Saturday, Nov. 23.

(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) 3, Mayville State (N.D.) 0 – FINAL (25-18, 31-29, 25-21)

Brooklyn Grage ignited Dakota State's 4-0 opening run with a kill followed by back-to-back kills from Hailey Wathen and then an attack error by the Comets.  The Trojans ballooned their lead to 11-4 and never trailed for the rest of the first set.

Tristyn Maras smashed a kill to post the biggest lead of the first set at 19-10.  She closed the first set with another kill (assisted by Maddi Langerock) for a 25-18 victory and earned 1-0 match lead for Dakota State.

Dakota State hit an impressive .439 in the opening set, smashing 21 kills with three attack errors in 41 swings.  Mayville State registered a .250 hitting percentage with 13 kills and four errors in 36 attempts.

MSU kicked off the second set with a 3-0 scoring run, thanks to back-to-back kills from Abigail Cox followed by a kill from Desidy Schwanke. 

Trailing 8-4, the Trojans went on a 6-0 scoring outburst to overtake the lead.  DSU used three different hitters (Macey Wathen, Sydney Schell, and Mars) to spark the scoring run.  An attack error by the Comets gave DSU a 10-8 lead.

After DSU stretched their lead to 19-14, Mayville State went on a 4-0 scoring run after their second timeout of the second set.  Samantha Passa smashed a kill as the Comets trimmed their deficit to 19-18.

Both teams battled back and forth, fighting for their set point opportunities.  Knotted at 29-29, Maras smashed a kill to give DSU a 30-29 lead.  MSU committed an attack error to give the Trojans a 31-29 victory, ballooning their match lead to 2-0.

A total of 12 ties and five lead changes were registered in the second set between Dakota State and Mayville State.  Both teams smashed 17 kills in the second set, while the Trojans hit .176 (eight attack errors in 51 swings) and held the Comets to .070 hitting percentage (13 attack errors in 57 attempts).

Tied at 5-5 in the third set, the Trojans used a 5-0 scoring run to widen their lead.  M. Wathen opened the scoring run with a kill, followed by a service ace and a kill from Reagan VanRooyan.  Hannah Evans also added a kill followed by a miscue by the Comets for 10-5 DSU lead.

At 12-9, Dakota State used a 4-0 scoring run to stretch their lead to 16-9.  Evans started the scoring run (assisted by Madalyn Groft) followed by a service ace by Kate VanRooyan and back-to-back kills by Grage.

The Trojans never trailed for the rest of the third set, securing a 25-21 victory after closing the match with a kill from Grage (assisted by Groft).

DSU hit .238 in the third set (16 kills with six errors in 42 swings) compared to MSU .231 hitting percentage (13 kills with four errors in 39 attempts).

Three Dakota State hitters recorded double digits kills, led by M. Wathen with 11 kills.  She hit .381 in the match.  Grage and Maras each added 10 kills.  Grage produced .300 hitting percentage, while Maras hit .227.  H. Wathen added nine kills and hit .308.  Schell had seven kills, surpassing Maddie Polzin for third all-time kills (1,456 kills – Schell currently have 1,459 kills during her career at Dakota State).

Groft contributed 22 set assists and five digs for the Trojans.  Langerock added 19 set assists and nine digs.  K. VanRooyan tallied 13 digs, five set assists, and a service ace.  R. VanRooyan had a service ace.

Evans tallied six blocks and four kills for DSU.  Logan Conlin collected nine digs. 

Passa led the Comets with a double-double of 14 kills and 10 digs.  She hit .227 in the match.  Madison McKinnon added 10 kills and four blocks.  Cox had eight kills.

Lindsey Nyhagen had 19 set assists and nine digs for MSU.  Noelle Erickson added 17 set assists.  Clarie Bjorneby, Emily Condon, and Victoria Richter each had nine digs. 

Dakota State hit .276 in the match (54 kills with 17 errors in 134 attempts) compared to Mayville State .167 hitting percentage (43 kills with 21 errors in 132 swings).

MSU was 95.7 percent the serving line with one ace and three errors in 70 attempts.  DSU was 93.7 percent from the serving line with two aces and five errors in 79 serves.

Both teams registered eight blocks.