Volleyball Set to Play in the UND Classic

MATCHES 7-9: South Dakota St. (1-5) Appalachian St. (2-5); George Washington (1-5); North Dakota (10-1)

When	Friday, Sept. 8 \| 9 a.m. & 4:30 p.m.	Saturday, Sept. 9 \| 6 p.m.
Where	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center I Grand Forks, N.D.	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center I Grand Forks, N.D.
Live Video	None	WatchBigSky.com / Pluto TV Channel 240 (app)
Live Stats	GoJacks.com	GoJacks.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Appalachian State \| George Washington I North Dakota
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #StriveTogether

After hosting its first tournament since 2014 last weekend, the South Dakota State volleyball team begins an eight-match road trip when it travels to North Dakota for the UND Classic Friday and Saturday in the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D.
            The Jackrabbits play Appalachian State to open the tournament at 9 a.m. Friday. They then meet George Washington at 4:30 p.m. The final match of the tournament features SDSU vs. long-time rival and future Summit League member North Dakota Saturday at 6 p.m.
            South Dakota State is 1-5 on the season after going 0-3 in its Hampton Inn Jackrabbits Invitational Sept. 1-2. Sophomore Makenzie Hennen led the Jacks, averaging 2.90 kills per set while hitting .233 and being named to the all-tournament team.
            Appalachian State enters the weekend 2-5 after going 0-3 in its own tournament this past weekend. Kara Spier led the Mountaineers, averaging 3.92 kills per set with 47 total kills and a .440 hitting percentage.
            George Washington went 0-3 this past weekend and is 1-5 on the season. Callie Fauntleroy was named to the George Washington All-Tournament team after hitting .464 for the weekend with 27 kills. She also tallied 19 total blocks.
            North Dakota is on a six-match winning streak and is 10-1 overall after winning all three Glory Road Invitational matches in straight sets and defeating in-state rival North Dakota State, 3-0, Wednesday. The Fighting Hawks were led by tournament MVP Sydney Griffin, who averaged 2.1 kills and hitting .513 as UND's setter.

Jackrabbit All-Access
Saturday's match vs. North Dakota can be seen on WatchBigSky.com and on the Pluto TV Channel 240 (app). Live stats for the weekend are available on GoJacks.com.

Setting the Scene

South Dakota State begins an eight-match road swing, its longest of the season, with the UND Classic. The Jackrabbits are looking to end a five-match losing streak.
State hit .300 for the first time in its Milwaukee match Aug. 25. The Jackrabbits rank seventh in The Summit League in attack percentage (.159).
The Jackrabbits are 0-1 in away matches and 0-2 in neutral-site matches so far this season. Overall, State is 25-43 in tournament play since 2011.
The Jackrabbits meet George Washington for the first time while State leads the Appalachian State series 1-0 and the North Dakota series 49-28.
The Jacks defeated the Mountaineers in 3-1 at the Kansas Jayhawk Invitational Sept. 2, 2011. The Fighting Hawks have won the last four matches in the series, including a hard-fought four-set match at South Dakota State last year. The Jackrabbits will be playing for their first win over UND in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
South Dakota State is in its 52nd season overall and 13th in the Division I era. The Jackrabbits sport an 895-688-8 (.562) all-time record and 174-237 (.423) 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 .159 as a team and is led offensively by sophomore Makenzie Hennen. The outside hitter is averaging 2.76 kills per set.
Junior right side hitter Sierra Peterson is averaging 2.38 kills per set and is one of six Jackrabbits hitting higher than .200.
The Jackrabbits' primary setter, junior Mattison Munger, is averaging 8.00 set assists and 2.11 digs per set.
On defense, the Jackrabbits' lone senior, libero Ellie Benson, tops the squad with 3.62 digs per set.
The bright spot for South Dakota State has been blocking. The team averages 1.62 blocks per set with Peterson and junior transfer Payton Richardson with 14 and 13 total blocks, respectively.
South Dakota State was picked to finish seventh in The Summit League preseason coaches poll.
The Jackrabbits return five starters from the 2016 season in Peterson, Hennen, sophomore Ashlynn Smith, Munger and Benson. Richardson (1.72 kps, 0.72 bps) and freshman middle blocker Macy Smith (1.38 kps, 0.43 bps) join the probable starting six this weekend.
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
Appalachian State (2-5)—Appalachian State went 0-3 in the Appalachian Invitational this past weekend, losing to Towson (3-1), East Tennessee State (3-1) and Virginia (3-1).

The Mountaineers are hitting .178 as a team with their offensive attack coming from Kara Spicer. The freshman middle hitter averages 3.43 kills per set and is hitting .401.
Preseason all-conference selection Emma Longley sat out the weekend, but the sophomore outside hitter leads the squad in kills per set (3.46) and averages 2.00 digs per set. In all, three Appalachian State players are hitting higher than .200.
An integral part of their offensive scheme is the setter. The Mountaineers are led by senior Ashlyn Brown's 9.96 sets per set.
Defensively, junior libero Olivia Loeffler averages 4.37 digs per set.
The Mountaineers are averaging 1.48 blocks per set with Spicer tallying 18 total blocks.
Appalachian State finished the 2016 season 4-25 overall and 2-14 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Mountaineers were picked fifth in the East Division in the 2017 preseason poll.

Series vs. Appalachian State—SDSU leads 1-0.

Georgia Washington (1-5)—George Washington is looking to snap a five-match losing streak after dropping matches to Indiana (3-0), LIU Brooklyn (3-2) and Hofstra (3-1) in its GW Invitational last weekend.

The Colonials are hitting .157 as a team and are led by Skylar Iott. The sophomore outside hitter is averaging 2.53 kills per set. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Young is logging 2.53 kills per set and adds 2.00 digs per set.
Sophomore setter Jaimeson Lee averages 6.46 assists per set and 2.96 digs per set.
GW has three players averaging two-or-more digs per set, led by freshman libero Sydney Welch with 4.58 digs per set.
Freshman middle blocker Callie Fauntleroy averages a team-leading 1.27 blocks per set and hitting a team-leading .417.
The Colonials finished the 2016 season 11-18 overall and 4-10 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. George Washington was picked sixth in the 2017 preseason poll.

Series vs. George Washington—First meeting.

North Dakota (10-1)—North Dakota enters the weekend 13th in the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll released Sept. 5 and with the most wins in the NCAA this season. The Fighting Hawks opened the season 4-0 at the Rebel Invitational in Mississippi, lost at Georgia Tech, and now has a six-match winning streak after defeating Youngstown State (3-0), New Mexico (3-0) and UTEP (3-0) this past weekend and NDSU (3-0) Wednesday.

UND are hitting .215 as a team with its offensive attack coming from middle blocker Faith Dooley. The senior leads the squad in kills per set (3.17) and a .372 hitting percentage.
Setter Sydney Griffin runs the offense for North Dakota, averaging 10.27 set assists per set. The senior also averages 2.46 digs per set.
On defense, sophomore libero Alivia Fraase and senior outside hitter Tamara Merseli average 3.78 and 3.54 digs per set, respectively.
UND is putting up a big block as it averages 2.68 blocks per set. Dooley has a team-leading 58 total blocks.
The defending Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament champions are the overwhelming favorite to repeat in the 2017 league coaches poll after finishing 2016 season 26-10 and reaching the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Series vs. North Dakota—SDSU leads 49-28.

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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Ellie Benson

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