Volleyball set for Summit League road test

Sunday, October 6

Tulsa, Okla.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Oral Roberts

Photo by: SDSU Sports Information

10/2/2019 1:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

MATCHES 15 & 16: South Dakota State (4-10, 1-1); Denver (9-5, 1-1); Oral Roberts (5-12, 1-2)

When	Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 \| 8 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. MT	Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Hamilton Gymnasium \| Denver, Colo.	Aerobics Center \| Tulsa, Okla.
Live Video		ORUAthletics.com
Live Stats	DenverPioneers.com	ORUAthletics.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #PERFORM

The South Dakota State women's volleyball team competes in its first pair of Summit League road matches as it travels to Denver on Friday for an 8 p.m. CT (7 p.m. MT) match-up against the Pioneers. On Sunday, the Jackrabbits will take on Oral Roberts at 1 p.m. at the Aerobic Center in Tulsa, Okla.

LAST TIME OUT
In its opening week of Summit League action, SDSU went 1-1, defeating North Dakota State, 3-1 (17-25, 25-18, 25-19, 26-24), and falling to Western Illinois, 3-2 (25-19, 26-24, 22-25, 11-25, 13-15) in its annual Pink Match at the Sanford Pentagon.

Makenzie Hennen recorded double-doubles in both matches and tallied 21 kills against WIU. Tatum Pickar and Crystal Burk recorded weekend totals of 32 and 31 digs, respectively. Carly Wedel tallied 84 assists in the pair of matches, including 49 assists against WIU, just three assists shy of her career best.

The win against NDSU marked the first time that the Jacks have won their Summit League opener since 2012.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
After its opening week of Summit League action, Denver holds a record of 9-5, 1-1 SL. Last week, the Pioneers fell to Purdue Fort Wayne, 3-1, and swept Oral Roberts. Lydia Bartalo leads Denver's offense with 163 points, 142 kills and 13 service aces. Ari Winters and Amanda Green have 109 and 96 kills, respectively. Green holds a team-best 64 blocks and ranks first in the Summit League with 1.49 blocks per set. Macy Carrabine aids the defensive efforts with 165 digs, averaging 3.51 digs per set. The Pioneers were chosen as the favorite in the 2019 Summit League Preseason Poll. Tom Hogan is in his fourth season at the helm of Denver with a record of 73-18. Denver holds the lead over the Jacks in the all-time record with 12-1. A season ago, SDSU fell to the Pioneers on both occasions, 3-0.

Oral Roberts heads into the weekend with an overall record of 5-12 and a 1-2 mark in Summit League action. The Golden Eagles fell to both South Dakota (3-1) and Denver (3-0) in the opening week of conference play. On Tuesday, ORU edged Omaha, 3-2, to pick up its first conference win. CeCe Madison paces the Golden Eagles and The Summit League with a total of 251 kills, averaging 3.86 kills per set. Laura Shoopman holds a team-best 15 service aces, while ranking second for ORU with 134 kills. Sylvia Lawson aids the offensive efforts with 586 assists and has recorded 14 service aces. Defensively, Sarah Thiessen has posted 271 digs while Madison has a total of 206 digs. At the net, Bri Greenlee has registered 48 blocks. Oral Roberts is under the direction of head coach Sheera Sirola who is in her 16th season with a record of 270-193. The Golden Eagles hold a 15-5 advantage in the all-time series over the Jackrabbits. Last season, the Jacks split its pair of matches against ORU, falling 3-1 in Tulsa, Okla. and earning a 3-2 victory at home.

POSITION RUNDOWN
Outside Hitters

Makenzie Hennen has a total of 193 kills, 157 digs and 13 blocks. She has recorded double digit kill totals in 11 of the 14 matches the Jacks have played, while registering a double-double in eight matches. The senior holds a hitting percentage of .166 including a career best mark of .556 in the Jacks' win over Prairie View A&M. She tied her career-best of 24 kills against Milwaukee. Hennen ranks fourth in the Summit League in total kills (193) and in kills per set (3.57).
Ranking second in kills with 126 is Ashlynn Smith, who also has 30 digs, 26 blocks and 11 service aces. The senior was named to the Katrinka Crawford Invitational all-tournament team.
Crystal Burk has tallied 115 kills, 10 service aces and 140 digs. She registered a career-best 19 kills against Memphis on a season-high hitting percentage of .417. Burk notched her fourth ever double-double against Eastern Illinois with 14 kills and 10 digs. Against Kansas City, she recorded a career high of 19 digs. The sophomore was named to the EIU Panther Invitational all-tournament team.

Middles

A trio of freshman, in Anna Nerad, Tori Thompson and Abby Fryauf, have covered the middle for the Jacks. Nerad has led SDSU's blocking in seven matches including a career high of seven blocks against Louisiana Monroe. She has a total of 40 blocks, 66 kills and 25 digs. Thompson has tallied 66 kills and 25 blocks, including a career-best performance against Fresno State with 12 kills on a .550 hitting percentage. During the opening weekend of Summit League play, Fryauf debut in the starting lineup. She has recorded eight blocks and six kills.

Back Row

Tatum Pickar paces the Jacks with 199 digs, averaging 3.69 digs per set. She has also posted eight service aces. Drew McDougall has earned some playing time, including three starts, as a freshman and has tallied 59 digs.

Setters

Carly Wedel and Madison Fay aid the offense with 290 and 198 assists, respectively. Wedel posted a career-best 51 assists against Milwaukee.

Post Season Accolades
Makenzie Hennen became the first Jackrabbit since Ashley Beaner in 2016 and the eighth overall to earn all-league honors as she was named honorable mention All-Summit League.

After posting a 3.425 GPA as a team, the Jacks were recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, earning the Team Academic Award for the 2018-2019 season.

#PERFORM
With #PERFORM as the official hashtag for the 2019 campaign, SDSU looks to take the next step in Cirillo's fifth season. SDSU closed last year with a pair of wins in its final five matches, and seven Jackrabbit returners blend with eight promising newcomers on this year's team.

Smith, Hennen Named Players to Watch
SDSU's Ashlynn Smith and Mackenzie Hennen were recognized by the Summit League as 2019 Volleyball Players to Watch.

Smith started 25 of 29 matches for South Dakota State last season, finishing second on the team in kills (251) and kills per set (2.46). The Laporte, Indiana native recorded a pair of double-doubles and had double-digit in 10 matches.

Hennen, an All-Summit League honorable mention pick in 2018, started all 29 matches and was the team's top all-around threat. She led the Jackrabbits in kills (340), kills per set (3.27) and attempts (1,098) while sitting second in digs (281), service aces (13), digs per set (2.70) and solo blocks (seven). The Jordan, Minnesota native had two 20-kill matches, 18 10-kill matches and 13 double-doubles. Hennen has 725 career kills and is on pace to reach 1,000 kills before her collegiate career comes to a close.

-GoJacks.com-