August 31, 2024

NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) kicked off the second day of the Siouxland Invitational volleyball tournament at United Sports Academy by rolling past Haskell (Kan.) in three straight sets.  The Trojans, who outhit the Fighting Indians 43-27 in the match, won by the set scores of 25-7, 25-20, and 25-15.

Dakota State, who received votes (RV) recognition in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 preseason poll, improved to 5-4 overall record.  Haskell, a member of the Continental Athletic Conference, fell to 3-4 overall record.

DSU closes out the tournament with a match with (RV) McPherson (Kan.) at 2 p.m.

(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) 3, Haskell (Kan.) 0 – FINAL (25-7, 25-20, 25-15)

Knotted at 4-4 in the opening set, Dakota State reeled off 19 straight points to grab a 23-4 lead capped by Reagan VanRooyan's service ace.

Sydney Schell smashed a kill to close the first set at 25-7, giving the Trojans an 1-0 lead.  DSU hit an astounding .538 (16 kills with 2 errors in 26 swings) and held HU to minus .036 (5 kills with 6 errors in 28 attempts).

Macey Wathen sparked the second set with back-to-back kills to fuel a 7-0 lead.  The Trojans never trailed in the second set, as Haskell could get no closer than two points on several occasions.  Leading 22-20, DSU scored the final three points to secure a 25-20 victory and extended their match lead to 2-0.

Dakota State went on a 4-0 scoring run to break a 3-3 tie into a 7-3 lead in the third set and never trailed to secure the victory.  The Trojans led as many as 11 points at 20-9 after an attack error by the Fighting Indians and a kill by Tristyn Maras for a 21-10 lead.

HU committed an attack error at the end of the match, giving DSU a 25-15 victory and a 3-0 match victory.

The Trojans hit .297 in the third set (15 kills with 4 errors in 37 attempts) and held the Fighting Indians to .023 hitting efficiency (9 kills with 8 errors in 43 swings).

Maras paced the Trojans' offense with 10 kills and hit .368 in the match.  Schell added eight kills and hit .471.  Wathen recorded seven kills and two blocks.  Brooklyn Grage had six kills.

Madalyn Groft posted a double-double of 14 assists and 16 digs for Dakota State.  She added three kills.  Maddi Langerock contributed 18 assists.

Kate VanRooyan led DSU's defense with 12 kills.  R. VanRooyan added 11 digs and two service aces. 

Mikeya Sheppard smashed nine kills and collected seven digs for Haskell.  Tressa Jim added seven kills and 10 digs.  Jaspen Ellenwood and Jocelyn Cahwee each produced 10 set assists.  Alaina Dugi tallied 18 digs.

Dakota State hit .292 in the match (43 kills with 12 errors in 106 swings) and held Haskell to .051 hitting percentage (27 kills with 21 errors in 117 attempts).  The Trojans had five service aces to the Fighting Indians one ace.