MATCHES 19 & 20: South Dakota St. (2-16, 0-5); South Dakota (10-7, 4-1); Fort Wayne (10-11, 2-4) |
            The South Dakota State volleyball team plays a pair of matches this week in South Dakota. SDSU plays a South Dakota Corn Showdown Series match at South Dakota Friday at 7 p.m. and then hosts Fort Wayne Saturday at 7 p.m. in the friendly confines of Frost Arena.
           The Jackrabbits (2-16, 0-5) lost in a battle at Western Illinois Oct. 6, falling in five sets. Sophomore
Ashlynn Smith recorded her third double-double of the season, tying a career high with 12 kills and adding 15 digs. Classmate
Makenzie Hennen had 10 kills and 17 digs for her third double-double.
           South Dakota (10-7, 4-1) is second in The Summit League after defeating Oral Roberts (3-1) and Omaha (3-1) last week.
           Fort Wayne (10-11, 2-4) won both of its matches last week, downing North Dakota State (3-1) and Western Illinois (3-0). The Mastodons are sixth in the league standings.
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Alumni Night/Hike & Spike
- South Dakota State volleyball alumni will return to Frost Arena Saturday night for Alumni Night. The 2007 team will be celebrating 10 years since it was fast-tracked with the wrestling program to Division I status. The team became the first Jackrabbits team to play in a Division I NCAA Championship when it played at then-No. 2 Nebraska.
- Jackrabbits fans can also take advantage of Hike & Spike Saturday. A football ticket from the Jackrabbits game vs. Northern Iowa gets fans into the volleyball match for free.
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Setting the Scene
- South Dakota State sees South Dakota and Fort Wayne for the first time this season.
- The Jackrabbits are looking to snap a five-match losing streak and win their first Summit League match of the season.
- The Jackrabbits are 24-56 in Summit League road matches since 2007. The Jacks have lost their last six Summit League road matches, dating to a 3-0 loss at IUPUI Oct. 23, 2016.
- SDSU is 42-43 at home in Summit League matches since 2007. Its last home league win was a 3-1 decision over of Fort Wayne Oct. 30, 2016.
- Friday's match is the 85th match between State and USD. The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series, 58-26. State has lost the last three matches in the series and the last seven in Vermillion. The last road win was Nov. 2, 2002.
- Fort Wayne leads the series with the Jacks, 20-6. SDSU won two of the last three meetings, including last year's in the Sanford Pentagon, 3-1.
- South Dakota State is in its 52nd season overall and 13th in the Division I era. The Jackrabbits sport an 896-699-8 (.558) all-time record and 175-248 (.413) mark in Division I play.
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A Quick Glance at South Dakota State
- South Dakota State, led by third-year head coach Nicole Cirillo, is hitting .131 as a team and is led offensively by sophomore Makenzie Hennen. The outside hitter is averaging 2.51 kills per set. Sophomore outside hitter Ashlynn Smith is averaging 2.42 kills per set.
- Junior Sierra Peterson averages 1.98 kills per set and has a team-high 25 service aces.
- The Jackrabbits have converted to a 6-2 offense with junior setter Mattison Munger averaging 6.39 set assists and 2.20 digs per set. Freshman setter Maddie Fay averages 4.16 set assists.
- On defense, the Jackrabbits' lone senior, libero Ellie Benson, tops the squad with 4.00 digs per set.
- The bright spot for South Dakota State has been blocking. The team averages 1.75 blocks per set with freshman Macy Smith leading the squad with 40 (12-28) total blocks.
- The Jackrabbits return five starters from the 2016 season in Peterson, Hennen, Smith, Munger and Benson. Junior middle hitter Richardson (1.30 kps, 0.65 bps) and Macy Smith (1.13 kps) join the probable starting six this weekend.
- South Dakota State was picked to finish seventh in The Summit League preseason coaches poll.
- The 2017 SDSU volleyball roster features 14 players from nine states. Of the 14 players, two are from South Dakota, four from Iowa, two from Nebraska and one each from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin. By class, the Jacks have one senior, three juniors, three sophomores and seven freshmen.
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This Weekend's Opponents
South Dakota (10-7, 4-1)—South Dakota enters the week with a three-match winning streak. It is also 4-1 at home.
- The Coyotes are hitting .200 as a team with their offensive attack coming from junior Hayley Dotseth. The outside hitter leads the squad in kills per set (3.27) and averages 3.00 digs per set.
- Senior middle blocker Megan Kerns leads USD with a .314 hitting percentage.
- Senior setter Brittany Jessen runs South Dakota's offense, averaging 10.52 set assists. She also averages 2.47 digs per set.
- Kerns lead the Yotes with 35 total blocks.
- Sophomore libero Anne Rasmussen is recording a team-best 5.30 digs per set.
Series vs. South Dakota—SDSU leads 58-26.
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Fort Wayne (10-11, 2-4)—Fort Wayne enters Saturday's match having won its last two Summit League matches.
- The Mastodons are hitting .199 as a team with their offensive attack coming from junior Nicole Rightnowar. The outside hitter leads the squad in kills per set (3.37) and averages 3.04 digs per set.
- Freshman middle hitter Sydney Boerst is hitting a team-high .329 and averages 2.67 kills per set while blocking 0.95 attacks a match.
- Junior setter Madison Jaqua runs the offense, registering 9.86 set assists per outing.
- On defense, IPFW has four players averaging 2.0-or-more digs per set, led by junior libero Elizabeth Britner's 3.78 dps.
- Four Mastodons have 30-or-more total blocks, led by senior middle hitter Natalie Seiler's 13 solo blocks and 53 block assists.
Series vs. IPFW—Fort Wayne leads 20-6.
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For more information on the South Dakota State volleyball team, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (
@GoJacksVB) or like
South Dakota State volleyball on Facebook.
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