Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball at Omaha on October 30, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.
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7:00 p.m.
Women's Volleyball
at Omaha
South Dakota State University Athletics
Tuesday, October 13
Frost Arena
7:00 PM
South Dakota State University
vs
South Dakota
Showdown Series Tuesday
10/12/2015 11:04:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
    BROOKINGS, S.D.—The South Dakota State volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of Frost Arena when it hosts in-state rival South Dakota Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the South Dakota Showdown Series.
           The Jackrabbits (1-20, 0-5) are looking to snap a 16-match losing streak and end a 0-5 start in The Summit League. SDSU lost 3-0 at IUPUI Oct. 9 and at Fort Wayne Oct. 10.
           South Dakota (7-11, 1-4) won hits first Summit League match of the season, upsetting Oral Roberts in five sets Oct.11.
           Western Illinois (3-16, 1-4) dropped its fourth consecutive match, losing to first place Denver in three sets Oct. 9.
Following Along
- There will be live video and stats for the South Dakota 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.
Link Up with the Jackrabbits
- For an inside look at the South Dakota State volleyball program and to access exclusive coverage, "like" SDSU Jackrabbit Volleyball on Facebook and follow @GoJacksSDSU on Twitter. Follow the team's live Twitter feed @GoJacksVB for frequent in-match tweets, statistics and more.
Setting the Scene
- South Dakota State looks to end its 16-match losing streak when it hosts South Dakota Tuesday. The streak in the program's longest. SDSU also has a 14-match Summit League road losing streak to shake.
- SDSU sports a 337-168 all-time home record and is 35-30 in home Summit League matches since 2007. The last time the Jackrabbits won a home conference match was Nov. 9, 2013, when they beat Western Illinois, 3-2, in the final home match of the season.
- The SDSU and South Dakota meet for the 79th time Tuesday. The Jacks lead the series, 55-23, but the Coyotes have won the last nine meetings. The last Jackrabbits win vs. USD was Sept. 18, 2010, when they won 3-1 in the NDSU Tournament. The last home victory was Oct. 3, 2002, when the Jacks won 3-1.
- South Dakota State leads the all-time series with Western Illinois, 12-5, but has dropped the last two meeting with the Leathernecks. SDSU's last win over the Western Illinois was in five sets Nov. 9, 2013.
A Quick Glance at South Dakota State (1-20, 0-5)
- SDSU's starting lineup includes seniors Wagner Larson and Kacey Herrmann in the middle, junior Nazya Thies and sophomore Mikala Hora on the outside, sophomore Ashley Beaner on the right side, freshman Mattison Munger setting and senior Lizzie Palmer as the libero.
- Senior Alana Pengilly and freshman Ellie Benson are the first subs for the Jacks.
- The Jackrabbits are hitting .100 and averaging 8.68 kills per set. Hora and Beaner lead the Jackrabbits in kills (145), Beaner in kills per set (2.13) and Larson has a team-leading .263 hitting percentage.
- Munger is South Dakota State's primary setter, but junior Brooke Leetham has come into matches to relieve Munger. The rookie is averaging 6.78 set assists while the team averages 8.23.
- Benson and Munger top the team in service aces with 12.
- Palmer leads the defensive corps with a 3.78 digs per set average. Hora is second with a 2.59 average.
- The Jackrabbits are holding their own in blocking (87.0, 1.23 bps). Herrmann leads the team with 6 solo and 40 total blocks.Â
South Dakota (7-11, 1-4)
- South Dakota won its first Summit League match after defeating to Oral Roberts Sunday in five sets.
- The Coyotes are hitting .222 overall as a team with their offensive attack coming from Audrey Reeg. The junior outside hitter leads the squad in kills per set (3.46) and is second in league matches (4.23).
- USD has four players hitting higher than .200 with senior middle blocker Kelsey Biltoft leading the way with a .339 hitting percentage.
- The Coyotes' offense runs through setter Brittany Jessen. The sophomore averages 10.28 set assists per set and 2.21 digs per set. She leads the league in set assists (11.41).
- South Dakota has 108.5 total blocks this season, including 15 solo blocks. Biltoft leads the team (1.01) and four other Coyotes have 20-or-more total blocks.
Last South Dakota Match
- Nov. 12, 2014—South Dakota 3, SDSU 0
VERMILLION, S.D.—Tiara Gibson led the South Dakota State volleyball team but the Jackrabbits lost 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-16) to South Dakota in the South Dakota Corn Showdown Series.
Gibson had a team-high six kills and hit .250 while Kacey Herrmann collected eight digs.
Kendall Kritenbrink led the Coyotes with a match-best 12 kills and Riley Haug recorded 12 digs.
Western Illinois (3-16, 1-4)
- Western Illinois won its only Summit League match when it defeated South Dakota (3-2) on the road in its Summit League opener Sept. 25.
- The Leathernecks are hitting .113 overall as a team with their offensive attack coming from outside hitter Peyton Crosser. The senior leads the squad in kills per set (3.33).
- WIU has three players hitting higher than .200 with freshman middle hitter Lexi Kolschefski leading the way with a .286 hitting percentage.
- Freshman Abby Skryd runs the Leathernecks' offense, averaging 8.30 set assists.
- Western Illinois has 104 total blocks this season, including 23 solo blocks. Senior middle hitter Jordan Jackson leads the team (0.54). WIU also has six other players with 20-or-more total blocks.
Last Western Illinois Match
- Nov. 15, 2015—Fort Wayne 3, SDSU 2
BROOKINGS, S.D.—Carley Gerving and Ashley Beaner led the South Dakota State volleyball team in its final match of the season but the Jackrabbits lost 3-2 (22-25, 17-25, 25-13, 25-15, 15-13) to Western Illinois in Summit League action in Frost Arena.
Gerving had a career- and team-high 12 kills and hit .400 for the match. Beaner recorded 11 kills.
Defensively, Alanna Pengilly had a match-best 28 digs. Kacey Herrmann and Lizzie Palmer added 18 and 14 digs, respectively.
Ann Miller led the Leathernecks with a match-high 23 kills and 17 digs. Samantha Fournier had a triple-double with 10 kills, 45 assists and a team-high 23 digs.
The Jacks opened the match strong, winning the first set with a late run. Trailing 19-17, Wagner Larson and Gerving had back-to-back kills followed by a service ace from Herrmann and a solo block by Larson to take a 21-19 lead. After a Western Illinois point, Larson and Gerving made it 23-20 with a pair of kills. Gerving and Tiara Gibson closed the set with a kill each.
In the second set, the Jacks went on an 8-2 run midway through the set to lead 16-8. The Leathernecks got as close at 19-13, but Gerving had a pair of kills and a block assist to fuel a 6-4 run for the win.
Western Illinois opened the third set with a 7-0 run that the Jackrabbits couldn't overcome. In the fourth set, SDSU again gave the Leathernecks an early 7-0 lead. A 6-2 run with kills from Gerving, Margit Hansing and Gibson during the stretch got the Jacks to within five, 16-11, but Western Illinois responded with a 10-4 run to tie the match at 2-2.
In the final set, Larson tied the set at 8-8 with a kill and a Leatherneck error gave SDSU a 9-8 lead but Western Illinois scored the next five points to take a 13-9 lead. The Jackrabbits rallied to make it 14-13 on a Gibson kill, but WIU won the match on a Miller kill.
Last Outing
- Oct. 10, 2015—Fort Wayne 3, SDSU 0
FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Nazya Thies led the South Dakota State volleyball team, but the Jackrabbits lost 25-17, 25-21 and 25-20 to Fort Wayne in Summit League action.
Thies collected 11 kills while hitting. .296. She also had three blocks. Wagner Larson added seven kills. Lizzie Palmer and Mikala Hora each had 11 digs.
Somer Johnson led Fort Wayne with 22 kills and a .465 hitting percentage. Olivia Hahn had a double-double with 11 assists and a match-high 19 digs.
Fort Wayne took a 10-5 lead early and built a 20-9 lead before the Jacks got kills by Hora and Thies and an IPFW error to pull within 20-12. The Mastodons scored the final five points to win the first set.
In the second set, the Jackrabbits and Fort Wayne were tied 15 times, the last at 21, before the 'Dons scored the final five points on four kills and a Jackrabbits' error.
SDSU took a 6-1 lead in the third set, before IPFW fought back to tie the set at 7. The teams tied again at 12 before the Fort Wayne used a 7-2 run to take the lead for good.
Showdown Series
- Tuesday's match starts the South Dakota Corn Utilization Showdown Series, a year-long collegiate athletics and academic competition started in fall 2012.
- The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series, 2-1.
- This fall, SDSU can earn points in women's soccer, men's and women's cross country and football.
Milestones
- Lizzie Palmer and Alana Pengilly could record 1,000 career digs this season. Palmer stands at 942 while Pengilly has 839.
- Kacey Herrmann has 679 digs and needs 21 for 700 career digs.
Volleyball Weekly Update (10.28.2025)
Tuesday, October 28
Volleyball Post Match Comments vs Denver (10.25.2025)
Saturday, October 25
Volleyball Highlights vs Denver (10.25.2025)
Saturday, October 25
Volleyball Post Match Comments vs Oral Roberts (10.23.2025)
Friday, October 24