September 17, 2026

FRONTIER CONFERENCE ACTION
THE MATCHES AT A GLANCE

Date: Friday, September 18 vs. Montana Western Location: DSU Fieldhouse / Madison, S.D.
Start Time: 5 p.m.
Theme:  Purple/Teal (Suicide Prevention Awareness)

 

Date: Saturday, September 19 vs. (24) Montana Tech Location: DSU Fieldhouse / Madison, S.D.
Start Time: 5 p.m.
Theme:  Trojan Blue

THIS WEEK
Dakota State (S.D.) (6-4 overall record, 3-1 Frontier Conference record) returns home at DSU Fieldhouse for their four of the next five matches.  The Trojans continue their busy Frontier Conference action as they host Montana Western (4-8 overall record, 3-2 Frontier Conference) Friday evening.  Wear purple/teal to the volleyball match.  On Saturday evening, DSU hosts NAIA's nationally-ranked Montana Tech (10-1 overall record, 5-0 Frontier Conference), who had won 10 straight matches before their Thursday match at No. 16 ranked Bellevue (Neb.).  Trojan Blue is the theme for the volleyball match.

Both matches are set for 5 p.m.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State (S.D.) plays their first Frontier Conference road matches in Montana.  This will be their first of the three trips to Montana during the regular-season.

*Carroll (Mont.), (RV) Montana Tech, No. 19 Bellevue (Neb.), Dakota State (S.D.), and Montana Western are the five teams that started the Frontier Conference play last week.

*The Trojans earned their 11th home victory in the last 13 Frontier Conference matches, dating back to first year of the league last season.  Dakota State defeated Dickinson State (N.D.) and Bismarck State (N.D.) to open conference play at DSU Fieldhouse.  It was the first time since 2022 that the Trojans began their conference play at home.

*Dakota State is playing their first road contests of the season this weekend.  The Trojans played in a pair of preseason tournaments on the neutral sites and played their three-match home stand prior to this weekend's road matches.

*After returning from their trip from Montana, DSU will play four of the next five Frontier Conference matches at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans visit their traveling partner, Bellevue (Neb.), on Sept. 22.
 

Record	6-4	4-8	10-1
Kills	465	561	564
Kills Per Set	12.2	11.7	13.4
Hitting %	.166	.156	.279
Assists	433	510	490
Assists Per Set	11.4	10.6	11.7
Digs	601	720	602
Digs Per Set	15.8	15.0	14.3
Blocks	69	86	80
Blocks Per Set	1.8	1.8	1.9
Service Aces Per Set	1.5	1.2	2.1
Receptions	723	1012	763

SCOUTING THE MONTANA WESTERN BULLDOGS
Montana Western (Mont.) enters Friday's contest with a 4-8 overall record and a 3-2 record in Frontier Conference play under eighth-year head coach Katie Lovett.

The Bulldogs struggled through their non-conference schedule before opening Frontier play with back-to-back five-set road victories over Valley City State (N.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.). Montana Western then fell in four sets to (RV) Montana Tech before returning home and completing a reverse sweep of Dickinson State (N.D.). The Bulldogs closed the weekend with a four-set loss to Bismarck State (N.D.).

Dani Brown, Antonia Duncan and Savana Warburton each recorded 12 kills in the victory over Dickinson State, while Jayda Ward contributed a career-high 30 assists.

DSU and Montana Western split the season series a year ago, with each team winning on its home court.  The Bulldogs own a 2-1 all-time series record, which began in the Kansas Wesleyan Classic on Sept. 14, 2019.  UMW's two victories over DSU were both in five sets, while the Trojans swept the Bulldogs in their first-ever Frontier Conference match last season at DSU Fieldhouse on Sept. 19, 2025.

SCOUTING THE MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS
Montana Tech (Mont.) enters the week with a 10-1 overall record and a perfect 5-0 record in Frontier Conference play under head coach Brian Solomon. The Orediggers are receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll and have won ten consecutive matches.

Montana Tech dropped its season opener in five sets to Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) before rattling off ten straight victories. The Orediggers opened Frontier play with sweeps of Mayville State (N.D.) and Valley City State (N.D.) before defeating Montana Western in four sets. Tech continued its unbeaten start to conference play with wins over Bismarck State (N.D.) and Dickinson State (N.D.).

The Orediggers are coming off a sweep of Dickinson State. Halle Moomaw recorded 12 kills, while Madison Biery added 10 kills on 13 attempts without an error. Rhys Layton dished out 42 assists as Montana Tech hit .324 as a team.

Montana Tech travels to No. 19 Bellevue (Neb.) Thursday before visiting Dakota State Saturday. The Orediggers defeated DSU twice last season, including a four-set victory in the Frontier Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

DSU won the first all-time meeting with MT on Sept. 9, 2023, in three straight sets in La Crosse, Wis.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State went 1-1 on its Frontier Conference road trip in Montana last weekend, moving to 6-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

The Trojans opened the trip Friday with a 3-0 sweep at Rocky Mountain (Mont.), winning 25-22, 25-17 and 25-23. Dakota State held a 45-39 advantage in kills, outhit Rocky .193 to .111 and recorded 10 team blocks. Tristyn Maras led the Trojans with 10 kills, while Lauryn Kloth added eight kills and four blocks. Gabi Borresen posted a double-double with 23 assists and 18 digs.

Dakota State followed Saturday with a tightly contested 3-2 loss at Carroll (Mont.), its first Frontier setback of the season. The teams traded set victories before Carroll claimed the deciding fifth set, 15-8. Kaedyn Sapp registered a career-high 20 kills, while Maras added a season-high 18 kills. Reagan VanRooyan collected a career-high 21 digs, and Sydney Wathen added a career-high 20 digs. The Trojans finished with 63 kills and held a 93-90 advantage in digs.

AROUND THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE
No. 24 Montana Tech sits atop the standings at 5-0 in conference play and 10-1 overall, while No. 16 Bellevue (Neb.) is also unbeaten in league play at 4-0 and 8-2 overall.  Both teams are scheduled to battle in Bellevue, Neb., Thursday.  

Montana Tech highlighted last week by going 3-0, defeating Montana Western in four sets Wednesday, Bismarck State (N.D.) in four Friday and Dickinson State (N.D.) in straight sets Saturday. The Orediggers extended their winning streak to 10 matches. Bellevue also stayed perfect in Frontier play with an impressive Montana road swing, sweeping Carroll (Mont.) Friday before defeating Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in four sets Saturday.

No. 8 Providence (Mont.) and Carroll are tied at 4-1, followed closely by Dakota State (S.D.) at 3-1. MSU-Northern and Montana Western are both 3-2.

Providence collected three victories during the week, defeating MSU-Northern in four sets before posting consecutive sweeps over Mayville State and Valley City State. Dakota State split its Montana trip, sweeping Rocky Mountain Friday before suffering its first conference loss in a five-set battle at Carroll Saturday. The Saints won the deciding set 15-8.

Elsewhere, MSU-Northern went 2-1 during its three-match home stand, including victories over Valley City State and Mayville State after opening the week with a loss to Providence. Dickinson State came up short in both matches on its Montana trip, falling in five sets at Montana Western and in three sets at Montana Tech.

The current bottom half of the standings has Bismarck State, Valley City State and Dickinson State each at 1-4, followed by Rocky Mountain and Mayville State at 0-5.

DSU JUNIOR VARSITY VOLLEYBALL UPDATES
Dakota State's junior varsity volleyball team returned to action Sunday at the Jamestown Triangular in Jamestown, N.D. The Trojans dropped both of their matches, falling 2-0 to Dickinson State (N.D.) before a 2-0 setback to host Jamestown (N.D.). The two results moved Dakota State's junior varsity record to 2-5-1 on the season.

Prior to the Jamestown triangular, DSU hosted North Dakota State College of Science on Sept. 9 at the DSU Fieldhouse, where the Trojans fell in three sets. Dakota State's two victories this season came at the Midland Tournament Aug. 30, where the Trojans swept both Doane (Neb.) and Hastings (Neb.) 2-0.

Dakota State returns home Monday, Sept. 21, to host the Dakota State Triangular at the DSU Fieldhouse. The Trojans face Minnesota West Community College at 4:30 p.m. and Mount Marty (S.D.) at 7:30 p.m. Minnesota West and Mount Marty will meet in the middle match at 6 p.m.

DSU continues its home stand Saturday, Sept. 26, hosting Mayville State (N.D.) at 1 p.m. The Trojans then travel to Mitchell Sunday, Sept. 27, for two scheduled matches at Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), beginning at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER RANKINGS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats website as of Thursday, Dakota State ranks fifth in the conference with 12.24 kills per set prior to the matches this weekend.  The Trojans are seventh in the league with 1.50 service aces per set.  DSU is fifth in the conference with 1.82 blocks per set.  

Lauryn Kloth ranks fifth in the Frontier Conference with .310 hitting percentage for the Trojans.  She is also fourth in the league with 1.03 blocks per set and third in most blocks with 39 blocks.  Kaedyn Sapp averages 2.91 kills per set, which is eighth best in the Frontier Conference.  Tristyn Maras records 2.60 kills per set, ranking her 11th in the league in kills per set.  

Emily Nelson ranks eighth with 5.11 set assists per set in the Frontier Conference for Dakota State.  She is tenth in the conference with 194 total set assists.

Kate VanRooyan is eighth in the conference with 3.80 digs per set for the Trojans.  She collected 133 digs this season prior to this weekend's matches.

2026 DSU Trojan Women's Volleyball Team Leaders

• Kills/Kills Per Set:  Kaedyn Sapp - 93 kills / 2.91 kills per set
• Assists/Assists Per Set:  Emily Nelson - 194 set assists / 5.11 set assists per set
• Digs/Digs Per Set:  Kate VanRooyan - 133 digs / 3.80 digs per set
• Blocks/Blocks Per Set:  Lauryn Kloth - 39 blocks / 1.03 blocks per set
• Service Aces/Service Aces Per Set:  Reagan VanRooyan - 14 service aces / 0.37 service aces per set
• Receptions:  Reagan VanRooyan - 164 receptions