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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits Close Season This Weekend
11/12/2014 10:48:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BROOKINGS, S.D.—The South Dakota State volleyball team closes the 2014 season this weekend when it hosts Oral Roberts Friday at 5 p.m. Friday and Western Illinois Saturday at 7 p.m. in the friendly confines of Frost Arena. Friday's match is part of a doubleheader with the Jackrabbit women's basketball team and Saturday's match is Senior Night.
The Jacks (6-25, 0-14) look to snap a 15-match losing streak after losing at South Dakota, 3-0, Tuesday.
Oral Roberts (13-14, 7-7) is in a three-way tie for fourth in The Summit League after losing in five sets to Denver Nov. 9. Western Illinois (5-22, 3-11) has lost its last five matches, including a 3-0 loss at IUPUI Tuesday. They are play at Omaha Friday night.
Following Along
- There will be live video and stats for the Oral Roberts and Western Illinois matches on GoJacks.com.
- Fans of Jackrabbit Extra on GoJacks.com can watch all South Dakota State home matches and select road matches streaming live on the internet.
Setting the Scene
- South Dakota State is looking for that elusive Summit League win this week. The Jacks, 35-27 in Frost Arena in Summit League matches since 2007, have lost its last six league home matches. The last time the Jackrabbits won a match was Sept. 20, when they beat Chicago State, 3-2, in Chicago and their last home win was Sept. 12 when they beat Florida International, 3-2.
- Oral Roberts leads the all-time series 7-4 and has won three of the last five meetings. The last time SDSU beat ORU was Nov. 5, 2011, in Tulsa. The last home win was Nov. 11, 2010.
- The Jackrabbits have won 8 of the last 11 matches vs. Western Illinois. Last year, the teams won on their respective courts. The Jacks beat the Leathernecks, 3-2, in last year's final home match.
A Quick Glance at South Dakota State
- Head coach Phil McDaniel has used a few different lineups this season. The last match saw juniors Wagner Larson (1.99 kps, 0.80 bps) and Alanna Pengilly (4.16 dps), sophomores Tiara Gibson (2.05 kps, 0.83 bps), Kacey Herrmann (1.61 kps, 2.94 dps), Brooke Leetham (4.65 aps) and Nazya Thies (0.92 kps) and freshman Ashley Beaner (1.91 kps) start for the Jackrabbits.
- Larson leads the Jacks in hitting percentage (.255) and service aces (20) while Pengilly tops the squad in digs (449) and digs per set (4.16).
- SDSU is hitting .150 on the season and has hit .200 or better in eight matches this season, including a season-high .363 (48-11-102) vs. UMES Aug. 30.
Oral Roberts (13-14, 7-7)
- Oral Roberts enters Friday's match in a three-way tie for fourth in The Summit League. It has won just two of its last five matches and went 1-1 this past weekend, beating Omaha (3-1) and losing to Denver (3-2).
n The Golden Eagles are hitting .231 as a team with their offensive attack coming from outside hitter Laura Milos. The freshman leads the squad in kills (447) and kills per set (4.34).
- Six ORU players are hitting over .200, including Jovana Poljasevic who is hitting a team-best .271.
- Oral Roberts' offense runs through freshman setter Lucija Bojanjac. She averages 10.77 assists per set and 2.04 digs per set. She is also hitting .276 (46-12-123).
- The Golden Eagles have 151.0 total blocks this season—65 and 64 each from middle blockers Jovana Poljasevic and Shelby Cox.
- Series vs. Oral Roberts - ORU leads, 7-4.
- Last Meeting: Sept. 26, 2014 - ORU 3, SDSU 0
TULSA, Okla.—The South Dakota State volleyball team lost its Summit League season opener, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15 and 25-22), at Oral Roberts in Aerobics Center.
Sophomore Tiara Gibson led the Jackrabbits with eight kills and six block assists. The middle hitter also hit .211 for the match. Defensively, junior Alanna Pengilly had a match-high 17 digs.
South Dakota State hit .111, but outblocked the Golden Eagles with 18 block assists.
Sara Pope led Oral Roberts with a match-high 20 kills. Laura Milos added 12 kills while Kylie Johnson had 15 digs.
Western Illinois (5-22, 3-11)
- Western Illinois enters the week looking to snap a five-match losing streak after losing at IUPUI (3-0) Tuesday. The Leathernecks' last win was at Fort Wayne (3-1) Oct. 26.
- The Leathernecks are hitting .147 as a team with their offensive attack coming from outside hitter Ann Miller. The senior leads the squad with 365 kills and 3.69 kills per set.
- On defense, Molly Murphy averages a team-best 4.15 digs per set while middle blockers Melanie Miller and Jordan Jackson have 95 and 80 block assists, respectively.
- Series vs. Western Illinois - SDSU leads 12-4.
- Last Meeting: Oct. 12, 2014 - WIU 3, SDSU 0
MACOMB, Ill.—Sophomore Tiara Gibson led the South Dakota State volleyball team despite the Jackrabbits losing 3-0 (28-26, 25-20 and 26-24) at Western Illinois in a Summit League match.
Gibson had a team-best nine kills and added a solo block and three block assists. Juniors Wagner Larson and Carley Gerving each added seven kills. Sophomore Kacey Herrmann also had 7 kills and 14 digs.
Junior Alanna Pengilly had a match-high 18 digs and freshman Jessi Henter had 30 set assists and 9 digs for the Jacks.
Ann Miller led the Western Illinois attack with 23 kills and 10 digs.
In the first set tied at 17, the Leathernecks used a 7-3 run to take a 24-20 lead but the Jackrabbits fought back with five consecutive points to take a 25-24 lead on a block from Gibson and Herrmann. After back-to-back errors that gave WIU the 26-25 lead, SDSU again had the block to tie the set at 26, but two Jackrabbit hitting errors gave the Leathernecks the set.
The second set had the Jacks down 21-14, but a 6-0 run pulled them within two, 21-19. SDSU was again within two points, 22-20, after a Gerving kill, but WIU used a Jackrabbit service error, a service ace and a kill to win the second set, 25-20.
WIU got out to an early 13-9 lead in the third set, but SDSU came back with a 6-2 run to tie the set at 15. But five ties later Western Illinois won the match on a kill and a Jackrabbit hitting error.
Players Mentioned
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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