October 7, 2025

MADISON, S.D. – The Dakota State University volleyball team continues their season-high five-match home stand at DSU Fieldhouse with three Frontier Conference matches this week.  This week also starts the second half of the Frontier Conference schedule, flipping home-and-away contests from the first half of the conference schedule.

(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) (11-5 overall record, 7-4 Frontier) host No. 8 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) (13-3, 9-2 Frontier) Wednesday evening in the Pink Night at 6 p.m.  Fans are encouraged to wear pink clothing to match to help raise cancer awareness.

The Trojans conclude their five-match home stand with a pair of Frontier Conference matches this weekend, hosting Bismarck State (N.D.) (3-13 overall record, 1-10 Frontier) Friday evening at 5:30 p.m.  Neon is the theme for the volleyball match.  DSU hosts Dickinson State (N.D.) (9-7 overall record, 5-6 Frontier) Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.  Camo is the theme for Saturday's match.
  Frontier Conference First Half Recap
Dakota State closed the first half of the Frontier Conference schedule after going 2-0 record at home last week, improving their conference record to 7-4.  Six of those wins came at DSU Fieldhouse, resulting in all three-set sweeps over (RV) Carroll (Mont.), Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Montana Western, No. 19 ranked Montana Tech, Valley City State (N.D.), and Mayville State (N.D.).

The Trojans are in a three-way tie in the Frontier Conference standings with the Saints and the Skylights.  Providence, who is ranked No. 3 in the latest NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, is undefeated in the league with an 11-0 record and is currently on a 17-match winning streak.  Bellevue, ranked No. 8 in the national poll, is second in the conference with 9-2 record.

Montana Tech and Montana Western are tied for sixth with 6-5 Frontier Conference each.  Dickinson State (N.D.) is eighth at 5-6 record, followed by Valley City State ninth with 4-7 record.  Mayville State is 10^th with 3-8 record, Bismarck State 11^th with 1-10 league record, and Rocky Mountain 12^th with 0-11 Frontier conference record.

Dakota State leads the Frontier Conference with 15.08 kills per set during 11 league matches.  Sophie Tuttle also leads the conference with 3.54 kills per set during league action, while her teammate Tristyn Maras is ninth in the Frontier with 2.81 kills per set.  Maddi Langerock ranks second in the Frontier Conference with 11.22 set assists per set in 11 Frontier Conference matches.  Kate VanRooyan ranks fifth with 5.30 digs per set during the first half of the conference schedule.
  Kloth's season-highs earn Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Attacker-of-the-Week
Freshman middle blocker Lauryn Kloth netted a pair of season-highs during (RV) Dakota State's pair of home sweeps for the week, defeating Valley City State (N.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.).  The Trojans remained undefeated at home during league play, which all resulted in 3-set sweeps.

Kloth committed just one attack error in 35 swings, collecting 25 total kills for the week.  She averaged an impressive 4.2 kills per set and hit an amazing .686 during the week.  She added nine blocks, averaging 1.5 blocks per set. 

Kloth was 11-of-14 in kills and hit a season-best .786 in Trojans' victory over the Vikings.  She followed up with a season-high 14 kills and hit .689 in DSU's win over the Comets.

She is currently fourth in the Frontier Conference, hitting percentage this season with .333.  The Trojans lead the NAIA in kills per set with an average of 14.93 kills per set prior to this week's matches.
  Opponent Breakdown & Context

• #8 Bellevue (Neb.): Bellevue, who was the NAIA national runner-up last season, is coming off with their three-match winning streak after sweeping Valley City State (N.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.) last week.  BU won the first meeting earlier this season with DSU last month in Bellevue, Neb.  The Bruins and the Trojans met in last year's North Star Athletic Association's championship match.
• Bismarck State (N.D.): Bismarck State is in their first-year membership with the NAIA and the Frontier Conference this season.  The Mystics fell short to NCAA Division II Minot State (N.D.) in a five-set thriller on Sept. 30, followed by a 3-0 setback to No. 24 ranked Carroll (Mont.).  BSC notched their first Frontier Conference victory this season by defeating Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in four sets on Oct. 4.  Dakota State won the first meeting in Bismarck, N.D., during the conference season opening weekend on Sept. 6 in four sets.
• Dickinson State (N.D.): After losing six consecutive matches, Dickinson State ended their losing skid with a pair of home victories.  The Blue Hawks defeated Rocky Mountain in four sets on Oct. 3, and earned their third victory over NAIA's Top 25 teams on DiSU's home court on Oct. 4, defeating No. 24 Carroll in four sets.  Dickinson State won the first conference meeting last month, rallying back to defeat the Trojans in five sets.

Up Next

• Oct. 19-20: Dakota State heads to Montana for a week-long trip, starting on Sunday, Oct. 19 at Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in Billings at 3 p.m. (Central Time)/2 p.m. (Mountain Time).  The Trojans then travel from Interstate 90 to Interstate 15 to Helena on Monday, Oct. 21, to visit Carroll at 7 p.m. (CT)/6 p.m. (MT).
• Oct. 22-23: After taking a day off, DSU heads south on Interstate 15 and part of Interstate 90 in Butte to visit Montana Tech on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. (CT)/7 p.m. (MT).  The Trojans conclude their trip in Montana on Thursday, Oct. 23, traveling south on Interstate 15 to Dillon for a match-up with Montana Western at 8 p.m. (CT)/7 p.m. (MT).
• Oct. 27: Dakota State concludes their five-match road trip on Monday, Oct. 27, taking on rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) in Mitchell, S.D.  The junior varsity match starts at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity match at 7 p.m. at Christian Athletic Center.

2025 DSU Trojan Volleyball Team Leaders

• Kills/Kills Per Set: Sophie Tuttle - 169 kills / 3.45 kills per set
• Assists/Assists Per Set: Maddi Langerock – 603 assists / 11.2 assists per set
• Digs/Digs Per Set: Kate VanRooyan - 263 digs / 5.2 digs per set
• Total Blocks: Lauryn Kloth - 43 blocks / 0.8 blocks per set
• Service Aces/Aces Per Set: Sydney Wathen - 18 service aces / 0.3 service aces per set
• Receptions: Kate VanRooyan - 200 receptions