Smith, Andrews Lead Volleyball Team

Friday, August 24

Kansas City, Mo.

4:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

0-1

Austin Peay

1-0

Austin Peay

South Dakota State

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

8/24/2018 10:17:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

KANSAS CITY, Missouri—The South Dakota State volleyball won its first set of the season, but lost the match 3-1 to Austin Peay Friday evening at the UMKC Invitational. The Jackrabbits lost 25-21, 26-24, 22-25 and 25-17.

Junior Ashlynn Smith and freshman Sydney Andrews each had a team-high 12 kills. Smith also hit .409. Junior Makenzie Hennen and rookie Crystal Burk chipped in nine kills apiece. Defensively, Hennen had a team-best 14 digs. Sophomore Maddie Fay had 42 set assists and nine digs.

"There were a lot of positives to take away from today. Our offense gradually got better and we were able to get more people involved," fourth-year head coach Nicole Cirillo said. "We showed a lot of fight and improvement and I look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings."

Runs late in all four sets were the difference. In the first set, there were four ties, the last at 19-19. Austin Peay scored the next three points to lead 22-19. After a service error by the Governors, Hennen convert on a kill to pull within one, 22-21. Austin Peay then closed the set with three-straight points.

Tied at 22-22 in the second set, Smith and Hennen had back-to-back kills to give SDSU a 24-22 lead. The Governors answered with three kills and a block to win the set despite the Jackrabbits hitting .256 in the set with 16 kills.

Smith and Andrews combined for four kills each in the third set and helped SDSU build a 20-14 lead. The Jacks then held off Austin Peay after it pulled within 23-19.

Austin Peay ran out to a 10-2 lead in the fourth set. The Jacks pulled within five points, 15-10, after Smith recorded her 10th kill of the match and combined with Fay and Burk for back-to-back blocks. The Governors responded with a 7-2 run to push the lead to 22-12. Despite outscoring APSU 5-3 down the stretch, the Jacks dropped to 0-2 on the season.

Notables
With 12 kills, Sydney Andrews is the first freshman since Wagner Larson (2012) to recorded 10-or-more kills two matches into the season.
Andrews is also the first middle hitter since Payton Richardson (2017) to register 10-or-more kills in a match.

Up Next
South Dakota State returns to the court Saturday at 11 a.m. when it plays Western Michigan.

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-