September 2, 2026

FRONTIER CONFERENCE SEASON OPENING WEEKEND
THE MATCHES AT A GLANCE

Date: Friday, September 4 vs. Dickinson State (N.D.) - JERSEY NIGHT Location: DSU Fieldhouse / Madison, S.D.
Start Time: 5 p.m.

 

Date: Saturday, September 5 vs. Bismarck State (N.D.) - NEON Location: DSU Fieldhouse / Madison, S.D.
Start Time: 2 p.m.

 
THIS WEEK
Dakota State (S.D.) looks to rebound after dropping their previous three matches, falling to 3-3 overall after opening the season with three straight victories in Hawaii.  DSU now turns its attention to its 22-match Frontier Conference schedule, beginning with home contests against Dickinson State (N.D.) (1-6 overall record, 0-0 Frontier) on Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. and Bismarck State (N.D.) (2-3 overall record, 0-0 Frontier) on Sept. 5 at 2 p.m.  The Trojans conclude their three-match home stand at DSU Fieldhouse.

Jersey Night is the theme to the volleyball home match on Friday evening and Neon on Saturday afternoon.

QUICK HITS
*This week marks the 22-match Frontier Conference women's volleyball season.  The conference season started Tuesday evening (Sept. 1) with Carroll (Mont.) sweeping Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in three straight sets in Helena.

*Dickinson State (N.D.) will host Bismarck State (N.D.) in the conference season opener Wednesday evening (Sept. 2) before making a trip to Dakota State (S.D.) and No. 19 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) this weekend.

*Dakota State closed their non-conference schedule with a 3-3 record, despite a 3-1 setback to rival No. 16 ranked Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Aug. 26 at DSU Fieldhouse.

*The Trojans are seeking their first home win of the season this season.  DSU went 9-2 record at DSU Fieldhouse during their Frontier Conference contests.

*DSU is currently on their first three-match home stand at DSU Fieldhouse, concluding their home stand this weekend.  Their second three-match home stand takes place on Oct. 14-17.

*Dakota State is averaging 11.64 kills, 10.82 assists, 2.09 aces, 14.23 digs, and 1.91 blocks through six matches.
 

Record	3-3	1-6	2-3
Kills	256	251	161
Kills Per Set	11.6	10.5	11.5
Hitting %	.140	.118	.139
Assists	238	227	150
Assists Per Set	10.8	9.5	10.7
Digs	313	358	200
Digs Per Set	14.2	14.9	14.3
Blocks	42	43	20
Blocks Per Set	1.9	1.8	1.4
Service Aces Per Set	2.1	1.2	2.4
Receptions	429	493	266

SCOUTING THE DICKINSON STATE BLUE HAWKS
Dickinson State enters the early portion of the 2026 season with a 1-6 overall record under third year head coach Stormy Owsley.

DiSU opened its season Aug. 21-22 at the Siouxland Invitational in North Sioux City S.D., playing four matches in two days. The Blue Hawks came away with one victory, a 3-0 sweep against Clarke (Iowa). Dickinson State dropped their last three matches in the tournament, falling to No. 6 McPherson (Kan.), Hastings (Neb.), and Morningside (Iowa).

Dickinson State then traveled to the College of Idaho Tournament to face three nationally ranked opponents. DiSU dropped all three matches to No. 2 Eastern Oregon, No. 15 The Master's (Calif.), and No. 18 College of Idaho.

The Blue Hawks are led by Aubrey Allison with 2.67 kills per set (64 kills).  Rylee Kogolshak contributed 8.29 set assists per set (199 set assists) through seven matches.  

The Trojans and Blue Hawks split the season series last year, with each team winning on their home court. Dakota State was 22-6 record in the last 28 matches, including winning eight of the last ten matches against Dickinson State.

The Trojans had won the last six home meetings with the Blue Hawks since March 30, 2021.

SCOUTING THE BISMARCK STATE MYSTICS
Bismarck State (N.D.), led by Kyle Kuether, enters their second season of NAIA competition. Their inaugural year in the NAIA saw them end the season with a 5-22 overall record and a 3-19 record in Frontier Conference play. 

Bismarck State opened their season on Aug. 21 and Aug 22. at the Siouxland Invitational in North Sioux City, S.D., where they went 2-2. The Mystics defeated Haskell (Kan.) and Clarke (Iowa), followed by losses to Dordt (Iowa) and Briar Cliff (Iowa).

The Mystics had their home opener on Aug. 29 against Mount Marty (S.D.), falling short in four sets. It marked the inaugural event hosted by their brand new arena, the Bavendick Center.

Reese Duchsherer leads Bismarck State with 3.56 kills per set (64 kills) through five matches.  Aislyn Hogan averages 9.33 set assists (168 total assists).  

Dakota State won the first two all-time meetings last season, a 3-1 victory in Bismarck and a 3-0 victory in Madison.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State suffered their first loss of the season Aug. 22 at the Siouxland Invitational, falling to College of Saint Mary (Neb.) in three sets, 25-23, 25-17 and 25-13. Lauryn Kloth, Kaylee Evenson and Tristyn Maras each recorded four kills, while Kate VanRooyan collected a match-high 18 digs. DSU struggled offensively with 18 kills and a minus-.178 hitting percentage.

Later that afternoon, the Trojans won the opening set against Dordt (Iowa) before the Defenders rallied for a 3-1 victory (23-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-21). Kaedyn Sapp led the Trojans with nine kills, Maras added seven, and Kloth recorded four total blocks. Emily Nelson and Gabi Borresen combined for 31 assists, while VanRooyan led the defense with 12 digs. DSU held a 9-7 blocking advantage but was outkilled 60-36.

Dakota State returned home at DSU Fieldhouse on Aug. 26 and battled No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), falling 3-1 (25-18, 25-18, 19-25, 25-23). After dropping the first two sets, DSU hit .326 with 19 kills to capture the third set and nearly forced a fifth set before DWU escaped with a 25-23 fourth-set win. Sapp posted a season-high 18 kills while hitting .304, Kloth and Maras each added 12 kills, and Nelson dished out 26 assists. VanRooyan paced the defense with 17 digs. The Trojans actually held a 57-56 advantage in kills, but Dakota Wesleyan outhit DSU .242 to .168.

FRONTIER CONFERENCE PLAY GETS UNDERWAY THIS WEEK
The 2026 Frontier Conference women's volleyball schedule shifts into conference play this week with 22 conference matches, which began last Tuesday evening before a full slate of league contests Friday and Saturday.

Conference action began Tuesday, Sept. 1, with the host team Carroll (Mont.) sweeping past Rocky Mountain (Mont.). T wo more matches are set for Wednesday, Sept. 2, with Bismarck State (N.D.) traveling to Dickinson State (N.D.) and Valley City State (N.D.) visiting Mayville State (N.D.).

Dakota State opens its Frontier slate at home, hosting Dickinson State Friday at 4 p.m. before welcoming Bismarck State Saturday at 1 p.m. The Trojans enter league play at 3-3 after completing their six-match nonconference schedule.

Elsewhere Friday, Providence travels to Carroll, while MSU-Northern visits Rocky Mountain. Montana Tech begins its conference schedule at Mayville State, while Montana Western travels to Valley City State. No. 19 Bellevue also opens league play at home against Bismarck State.

Saturday's schedule includes Dickinson State at Bellevue, Bismarck State at Dakota State, Providence at Rocky Mountain, MSU-Northern at Carroll, Montana Tech at Valley City State and Montana Western at Mayville State. The weekend begins the extended Frontier race that continues on ten (10) consecutive weekends through early November before the Frontier Conference Tournament, scheduled for Nov. 12-14 in Helena, Mont.

DSU JUNIOR VARSITY VOLLEYBALL UPDATES
Dakota State's junior varsity women's volleyball team has opened its 2026 season with a busy early schedule. The Trojans began play Aug. 22 at the Siouxland Invitational in North Sioux City, S.D., falling to Dordt (Iowa) in two sets. DSU fell to rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 2-1 in their home opener on Aug. 26. 

DSU played four matches in the Midland (Neb.) Tournament Aug. 30 in Fremont, Neb.  The Trojans came up with a pair of 2-0 sweeps over Doane (Neb.) and Hastings (Neb.) before tying with Peru State (Neb.) 1-1.  DSU fell to host-team Midland 2-0 in the final match of the tournament.

The Trojans return to action Sept. 9, hosting North Dakota State College of Science at 6 p.m. at the DSU Fieldhouse. Dakota State then travels to Jamestown, N.D., for a triangular Sept. 13, facing Dickinson State (N.D.) at 1 p.m. and Jamestown (N.D.) at 2:30 p.m.

FOR THE RECORD BOOK
Senior defensive specialist/libero Kate VanRooyan is fifth all-time in digs ub the Dakota State women's volleyball record book prior to the matches this weekend.  She accumulated 1,851 digs since 2023 season, already ahead of former Trojan standout Sydney Schell, who finished with 1,682 digs.

VanRooyan is closing in on Ashley Brassfield for fourth place, who collected 1,958 digs from 2001-05. She needs 107 digs to tie Brassfield and 108 to move into fourth place. Laura Lanoue ranks third with 2,027 digs, followed by Sonja Kamrud in second with 2,086 digs.

Peyton Groft leads all-time digs with 2,394 digs from 2018 through 2022, helping the Trojans to a pair of NAIA National Tournament appearances in 2019 and 2021.

2026 DSU Trojan Women's Volleyball Team Leaders

• Kills/Kills Per Set:  Tristyn Maras - 49 kills / 2.45 kills per set
• Assists/Assists Per Set:  Emily Nelson - 119 set assists / 5.41 set assists per set
• Digs/Digs Per Set:  Kate VanRooyan - 97 digs / 4.41 digs per set
• Blocks/Blocks Per Set:  Lauryn Kloth - 25 blocks / 1.14 blocks per set
• Service Aces/Service Aces Per Set:  Reagan VanRooyan - 10 service aces / 0.45 service aces per set
• Receptions:  Sydney Wathen - 88 receptions