Volleyball Wins Season Opener in Wisconsin

Friday, August 25

Milwaukee, Wis.

Noon

South Dakota State University

1-0

Milwaukee

0-1

South Dakota State

Milwaukee

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

8/25/2017 3:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin--For the first time in five years, the South Dakota State volleyball team swept an opponent in the season-opening match with a victory over host Milwaukee Friday afternoon in the Pepsi Panther Invitational.

The Jackrabbits won 25-23, 25-22 and 25-22 and hit .307 and had 10 total blocks, including five solo stops, for the match.

Junior Sierra Peterson led the team with 12 kills, tying a career-best, one error on 22 attack attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. Sophomore Makenzie Hennen added 11 kills and Ashlynn Smith nine kills. Junior Mattison Munger collected 37 set assists while senior Ellie Benson recorded 14 digs.

Turning point
Trailing 15-12 in the first set, the Jackrabbits scored on seven of 10 opportunities to tie the match at 18-18. Peterson and junior Payton Richardson collected a pair of kills each and SDSU blocked two Panther's attacks.

After the Jackrabbits scored the final five of seven points for the first set comeback win, State rallied again in the second set to take a 2-0 lead.

It was over when…
After a Milwaukee kill to open the third set, South Dakota State ran off five-straight points on kills from Peterson, Hennen and Smith for a 5-1 lead.

They said it
"What a great start. I'm so proud of how we responded in set one after a bit of a slow start," third-year head coach Nicole Cirillo said. "It shows our growth and leadership to be able to come back to win and then finish it in three!"

Notables

The last time SDSU won a three-set match in the season opener was Aug. 20, 2012, when it beat Southwest Missouri State in the Hawkeye Challenge.
The Jackrabbits hit .307 for the match. The last time they hit higher than .300 was Oct. 30, 2016, vs. Fort Wayne.
Mattison Munger logged her 1,550th career set assist in the second set. She now enters the Virginia Tech match with 1,563.
Ashlynn Smith registered a career-high eight digs.
In her first collegiate match, freshman Macy Smith had six kills and hit .500.

Star of the Match
Sierra Peterson was all over the court for the Jackrabbits. She hit .500 with a team-leading 12 kills. She tied a career-high with five digs, added a solo block and a block assists.

Up Next
The Jackrabbits play Virginia Tech at 5 p.m.

For more information on the South Dakota State volleyball team, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (@GoJacksVB) or like South Dakota State volleyball on Facebook.

-GoJacks.com-