August 15, 2026
HONOLULU, Hawaii — Dakota State (S.D.) earned an early-season upset victory over NAIA's nationally-ranked team Saturday morning, sweeping No. 12 Oklahoma Wesleyan in the Paradise Volleyball Classic at The Shark Tank. The Trojans won by set scores of 25-23, 25-17 and 26-24 to improve to 2-0 on the season. Oklahoma Wesleyan, member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament's final site, fell to 1-2.
The Trojans and the Eagles played their second all-time meeting Saturday, with DSU owning a 2-0 all-time series. DSU won the first all-time series meeting at DSU Fieldhouse on Oct. 22, 2011, in four sets.
How it happened
Oklahoma Wesleyan built an early advantage and eventually opened an 18-14 lead. The Eagles maintained a 21-18 edge before the Trojans made their decisive run.
Lauryn Kloth started the comeback with a kill before
Tristyn Maras and
Raya Van Beek followed with kills to tie the set at 21.
Ariel Hagen's kill gave Dakota State its first lead since early in the set at 22-21, and Maras extended the run with another kill for a 23-21 advantage.
After Oklahoma Wesleyan pulled within 24-23, Maras closed the opening set with a kill for the 25-23 victory. Dakota State hit .306 in the first set, producing 17 kills on 36 attacks.
The Eagles again grabbed the early momentum, building a 7-3 lead. Dakota State gradually worked its way back and tied the score at 13-13 before taking a 16-14 advantage on Borresen's service ace.
The Trojans took control behind
Reagan VanRooyan's serving. With DSU ahead 17-15, she served three aces during a five-point run that pushed the lead to 22-15. Murdock later added another ace for set point before
Annika Cantrell finished the set with a kill for a 25-17 victory.
Dakota State totaled six service aces in the second set.
The third set featured 17 ties and nine lead changes as neither team was able to pull away. Oklahoma Wesleyan scored the first three points before DSU responded with five straight to take a 5-3 lead.
Dakota State later used a 4-0 run to turn a 16-15 deficit into a 19-16 advantage, highlighted by a
Annika Cantrell kill and a Maras kill. The Eagles answered and eventually tied the set at 20-20.
The teams continued trading points down the stretch. Oklahoma Wesleyan earned set point at 24-23, but Kloth responded with a kill to tie the score at 24.
Sydney Wathen followed with a kill to give the Trojans match point, and Maras delivered the match-ending kill off
Emily Nelson's set for the 26-24 victory and the sweep.
The third set alone featured 17 ties, while the match had 25 ties and 15 lead changes.
Inside the box score
Dakota State finished with 42 kills and hit .209 for the match, while holding the Eagles to 29 kills and a .098 hitting percentage. The Trojans also held advantages in service aces (7-3), digs (46-42) and blocks (6-3).
Kloth paced a balanced Trojan attack with 10 kills on 19 swings with just two errors for a match-high .421 hitting percentage. She also factored into four blocks, including one solo block, to finish with 12.5 points. Maras registered a match-high 11 kills, while Hagen added five kills and hit .364. Van Beek and
Kaylee Evenson each collected five kills.
Nelson directed DSU's offense with 24 set assists and added an ace and four digs.
Gabi Borresen contributed 14 assists, four digs and an ace.
Kate VanRooyan anchored the Trojan defense with a match-high 17 digs, while Wathen added seven digs. R. VanRooyan recorded three of Dakota State's seven service aces.
Oklahoma Wesleyan was led by Maria Andrea Santa Cruz with 11 kills. The Trojans limited the Eagles to a .033 hitting percentage in the second set and .070 in the third.
Up next
Dakota State closes out the tournament on Saturday late evening versus Oregon Tech of the Cascade Collegiate Conference. The match is tentatively scheduled for 11 p.m. (Central Time)/6 p.m. (Hawaii Time).
