Volleyball Team on the Road This Weekend

MATCHES 23 & 24: South Dakota St. (2-20, 0-9); Denver (15-5, 6-2); Oral Roberts (11-10, 8-1)

When	Friday, Oct. 27 \| 8 p.m.	Sunday, Oct. 29 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Hamilton Gymnasium I Denver, Colo.	Cooper Aerobics Center I Tulsa, Okla.
Live Video	Not available	GoJacks.com
Live Stats	GoJacks.com	GoJacks.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Denver \| Oral Roberts
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #StriveTogether

The South Dakota State volleyball team is on the road for a pair of Summit League matches this weekend. The Jackrabbits are at Denver Friday at 8 p.m. and Oral Roberts Sunday at 1 p.m.
            SDSU (2-20, 0-9) lost its first match in the Sanford Pentagon, falling to Omaha in three sets Oct. 20.
            Junior Sierra Peterson led the team on offense with 10 kills while senior Ellie Benson collected 13 digs.
            Denver (15-5, 6-2) is third in The Summit League after defeating Fort Wayne (3-1) last week.
            Oral Roberts (11-10, 8-1) remains atop the league standings with a pair of road wins last week. It won at Fort Wayne (3-1) and at Western Illinois (3-0).

Setting the Scene

South Dakota State is looking to snap a nine-match losing streak and win its first Summit League match of the season.
The Jackrabbits are 24-59 in Summit League road matches since 2007. The Jacks have lost their last nine Summit League road matches, dating to a 3-0 loss at IUPUI Oct. 23, 2016.
Friday's match is the 11th meeting between State and Denver. The Pioneers lead the all-time series, 9-2. The Jacks have an eight-match losing streak vs. Denver. SDSU's last win over Denver was Sept. 16, 1989, when it won 3-0 in the Briar Cliff Invitational in Sioux City, Iowa.
SDSU and Oral Roberts meet for the 18th time. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 13-4. The Jacks' last win over Oral Roberts was Nov. 11, 2010, when they won in five sets in Frost Arena. SDSU has a six-match losing streak vs. Oral Roberts.
South Dakota State is in its 52nd season overall and 13th in the Division I era. The Jackrabbits sport an 896-704-8 (.557) all-time record and 175-253 (.408) mark in Division I play.

A Quick Glance at South Dakota State

South Dakota State, led by third-year head coach Nicole Cirillo, is hitting .126 as a team and is led offensively by sophomore Ashlynn Smith. The outside hitter is averaging 2.43 kills per set. Sophomore outside hitter Makenzie Hennen is averaging 2.38 kills per set.
Junior outside attacker Sierra Peterson averages 1.96 kills per set and has a team-high 26 service aces.
The Jackrabbits have converted to a 6-2 offense with junior setter Mattison Munger averaging 5.87 set assists and 2.27 digs per set. Freshman setter Maddie Fay averages 4.42 set assists.
On defense, the Jackrabbits' lone senior, libero Ellie Benson, tops the squad with 4.04 digs per set and ranks fourth in Summit League matches and fifth overall.
The bright spot for South Dakota State has been blocking. The team averages 1.68 blocks per set with freshman Macy Smith leading the squad with 46 (13-33) total blocks.
The Jackrabbits return five starters from the 2016 season in Peterson, Hennen, Smith, Munger and Benson. Junior middle hitter Payton Richardson (1.36 kps, 0.65 bps) and Macy Smith (1.23 kps) join the probable starting six this weekend.
n 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.

This Weekend's Opponents
Denver (15-5, 6-2)

Denver enters the weekend with a three-match winning streak and an 8-1 record at home.
The Pioneers are hitting .243 as a team and are led by junior outside hitter Becca Latham who is logging 3.11 kills per set. She is also leads the squad in hitting percentage (.344).
Denver uses a pair of setters to run its offense. Senior Piyusha Boteju averages 5.60 assists per set and 2.40 digs per set. Freshman Ellie Anderson averages 5.03 assists.
DU has five players averaging two-or-more digs per set, led by senior libero Cassidy Rooke with 4.00 digs per set.
The Pioneers average 2.39 blocks per set. Junior middle blocker Emma Willis averages a team-leading 1.20 blocks per set and freshman middle blocker Tina Boe 1.01 bps.

Series vs. DU—DU leads, 9-2.

Last Outing - DU 3, South Dakota State 0
BROOKINGS, South Dakota—Oct. 1, 2017—South Dakota State lost in three sets to Denver in a Summit League match in front of 231 fans at Frost Arena.
            The Jackrabbits lost 25-15, 25-20 and 25-10 to the Pioneers.
            Ashlynn Smith led SDSU with nine kills. libero Ellie Benson had a match-high 13 digs.
            Kayla Principato led Denver with 10 kills.
            South Dakota State opened the first set with 5-2 run with Smith and Sierra Peterson recording kills. Denver tied the match at 9-9 and closed the set with a 16-6 run.
            In the second set, the Pioneers had a 20-13 lead before the Jackrabbits used a 7-3 run fueled by a pair of Smith kills, a service ace from Hanna Jellema and kills from Maddie Fay and Makenzie Hennen. DU ended the set with a pair of kills.
            Denver took a 10-3 lead in the final set and outscored State 15-7 the rest of the way for the win.

Oral Roberts (11-10, 8-1)

Oral Roberts has a four-match winning streak and has won eight of its last 10 matches. It has a 4-3 home record.
The Golden Eagles are hitting .238 as a team with their offensive attack coming from Laura Milos. The senior outside hitter averages a league-leading 5.25 kills per set. She also averages 2.28 dig per set.
Senior middle hitter Shelby Cox is hitting .310 and is one of nine ORU players to hit higher than .200.
Oral Roberts also runs a 6-2 offense. Senior setter Lucija Bojanjac leads the team with 5.51 assists per set and Junior setter Bria Bergman is averaging 5.43 set assists per match.
Junior libero Tori Roe (3.54) is one of three Golden Eagles averaging more than 2.0 digs per set.
Oral Roberts is averaging 1.47 blocks per set with junior middle blocker Megan Doran averages 1.15 blocks per set.

Series vs. Oral Roberts—ORU leads 13-4.

Last Outing - Oral Roberts 3, South Dakota St. 0
BROOKINGS, South Dakota—Sept. 29, 2017—Ashlynn Smith led South Dakota State on offense, but the Jackrabbits lost in three sets to Oral Roberts in a Summit League match in front of 310 fans in Frost Arena.
            The Jackrabbits lost 25-17, 25-22 and 25-15 to the Golden Eagles.
            Smith collected 10 kills and Ellie Benson had a match-high 12 digs.
            Oral Roberts was led by Laura Milos with 19 kills.
            In the first set, the Jackrabbits trailed 14-7 before putting together a 9-4 run to pull within 18-16. Smith logged three kills in the run. Oral Roberts responded with a 7-1 run for the win.
            After a 14-14 tie in the second set, South Dakota State took a 20-17 lead with a Smith kill, a block by Payton Richardson and Erin Cutts and then a kill from Cutts to fuel the run. The Golden Eagles came back to tie the match at 21-21 and then scored four of the final five points for the win.
            Back-to-back kills by Smith and Makenzie Hennen put the Jacks within five, 16-11, of Oral Roberts midway through the third set. The Golden Eagles closed the set and match with a 9-4 run.

Munger Moving Up Assists List

Junior setter Mattison Munger collected 16 set assists last week and moved within seven set assists of 2,000 for her career.

Diggin In

Ellie Benson is in her final season playing for the Jackrabbits. She enters the week with 977 career digs and needs 23 digs for 1,000 career digs.

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-

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Players Mentioned

Ellie Benson

Erin Cutts

Madison Fay

Makenzie Hennen

Hanna Jellema

Mattison Munger

Sierra Peterson

Payton Richardson

Ashlynn Smith

Macy Smith

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball versus Oral Roberts on October 23, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball versus Denver on October 25, 2025 at 1:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball at Omaha on October 30, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball versus South Dakota on November 1, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball at North Dakota State on November 6, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball at St. Thomas on November 8, 2025 at Noon

Completed Event: Women's Volleyball at North Dakota on October 21, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Women's Volleyball at South Dakota on October 18, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: Women's Volleyball versus North Dakota State on October 16, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Women's Volleyball versus St. Thomas on October 11, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: Women's Volleyball versus Kansas City on October 9, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Women's Volleyball at Oral Roberts on October 4, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

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