FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The South Dakota State women's volleyball team fell to Purdue Fort Wayne in three sets (22-25, 21-25, 18-25) on the road Friday night.
The Jacks fell to 6-21 overall and 3-12 in the Summit League while the Mastodons improved to 17-12 overall and 11-4 in the Summit League.
Crystal Burk was one kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs, while Anna Nerad added eight kills and Carly Wedel had 13 assists to lead the offense.
South Dakota State got off to an early 5-2 lead in the opening set after a pair of Ashlynn Smith kills, a service ace by Burk and two Mastodon errors. Purdue Fort Wayne came back to take the lead after a run that included five unanswered points. The Jackrabbits battled through the remainder of the set, but never saw another lead as the Mastodons took the opening set, 25-22.
Purdue Fort Wayne opened the second set with a 4-0 run and extended its lead to 7-4. The Jacks then posted six consecutive points, highlighted by kills from Hennen, Thompson and Burk to pull ahead, 10-7. PFW came back to tie it at 11-11 and from there the score reached a tie on seven more occasions as it sat locked at 21-21. However, the Mastodons scored the final four points of the set and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-21 second-set win.
The Jackrabbits trailed 7-6 early in the third set, but PFW extended its lead to 20-12. State went on a late 6-3 run, but back-to-back Jackrabbit errors gave the Mastodons a 25-18 third-set victory to complete the sweep.
GAME NOTES
The Jackrabbits are now 6-26 all-time against the Mastodons.
Earlier this season, State pushed PFW to five sets, but fell 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 17+25, 25-22, 12-15).
Tori Thompson tied her career-best of six blocks in the match.
UP NEXT
South Dakota State will host Omaha on Senior Day this Sunday (Nov. 17). First serve is set for 1 p.m. at Frost Arena.