Volleyball falls to Memphis, defeats Panthers

Friday, August 30

Charleston, Ill.

3 p.m.

South Dakota State University

0-1 (0-1Invite)

Memphis

2-0 (2-0Invite)

South Dakota State

Memphis

8/30/2019 10:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- The South Dakota State volleyball team split its first pair of matches of the 2019 season on Friday at the EIU Panther Invitational. The Jackrabbits opened the day falling to Memphis 3-1 (17-25, 22-25, 25-20, 22-25) and defeating host team Eastern Illinois 3-1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-23).

SDSU is now 1-1 to start its season.

"I'm happy with the start of our season," said fifth year head coach Nicole Cirillo. "The first weekend is always interesting, but we came out with fire and determination. We can't wait to compete again tomorrow."

Memphis 3, South Dakota State 1
Crystal Burk led the Jacks with a career-best 19 kills on an impressive .417 hitting percentage. Makenzie Hennen posted a double-double with 12 kills and a team high of 18 digs. The senior also added two service aces and a block. Madison Fay and Carly Wedel dished out 30 and 14 assists, respectively.

Anna Nerad and Ashlynn Smith tied for a team high three blocks. Tatum Pickar added 15 digs to the defensive efforts.

The first set was tied 2-2, but Memphis would score eight of the next 10 points to pull ahead, 10-4. The Jacks had two different three-point runs throughout the remainder of the set, but never got closer than five points of the Tigers. Memphis took set one, 17-25.

Hennen started the second set with two service aces and a kill, setting the Jacks ahead early, 5-1. A 7-3 run gave the Tigers a 9-8 edge. The team traded leads until the Jacks held a 20-17 advantage. The Tigers scored eight of the final 10 points to win the second set, 25-22.

Three big swings by Burk in the addition to Memphis errors gave the Jacks and early 8-3 lead in the third set. State only continued to build on its lead from there as a kill and a service ace by Smith increased the difference to 23-14. The Tigers went on a 6-2 run to end the set, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Jacks from forcing a fourth set.

South Dakota State and Memphis traded leads in the fourth set until the score was tied at 11-all. From there several short runs allowed the Tigers to capture the fourth and final set, 25-22.

South Dakota State 3, Eastern Illinois 1
Burk led the Jacks in kills for the second straight game, while also recording a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Hennen led the defensive efforts with 14 digs while adding 11 kills. Fay posted 20 assists, while Wedel had 17 assists and six kills.

SDUS started the first set out 3-0, thanks to kills from Nerad, Hennen and Pickar. However, the lead wouldn't last long as several short runs gave Eastern Illinois a 14-11 lead. Two kills from Smith, one from Fay and a Hennen service ace tied the set at 15-15. The Panthers outscored the Jacks 10-3 for the remainder of the set.

State jumped out to an 11-5 advantage thanks to two kills from Hennen and one from Wedel. The Panthers never came closer than three points as the Jacks ran away with set two, 25-15.

The teams traded leads until the Jacks held an 18-17 edge. A 6-2 run would solidify a victory in the third set as a Panther service error gave SDUS the winning point.

The beginning of the fourth set mirrored the third until several short runs capped off by a kill from Burk, gave the Jacks a 17-11 lead. The Panthers threated the Jacks as the deficit was cut to 24-23. As she had done all night, a big swing from Burk sealed the deal, giving SDSU a 3-1 victory over EIU.

Game Notes

The Jackrabbits are now 3-2 all-time against Eastern Illinois and 0-1 against Memphis.
Makenzie Hennen registered her 18^th double-double tonight against Eastern Illinois.
Crystal Burk posted career-high 19 kills against Memphis.
SDSU had gone 1-1 on the opening day of their season for the past three years.

Up Next
South Dakota State wraps up its first tournament of the season on Saturday as it takes on Drake at 2 p.m.

-GoJacks.com-