Volleyball drops four set battle to Drake

Saturday, August 31

Charleston, Ill.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

1-2 (1-2Invite)

Drake

1-1 (1-1Invite)

South Dakota State

Drake

8/31/2019 5:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- The South Dakota State volleyball team dropped a four set battle to Drake, 3-1 (14-25, 25-21, 22-25, 21-25) on Saturday in its final match at the EIU Panther Invitational.

SDSU is now 1-2 after it first weekend of competition.

"Overall, I'm happy with our opening weekend," said head coach Nicole Cirillo. "We fought very hard to keep things interesting, gave ourselves opportunities and competed at a high level. I am excited to get back in the gym and prepare for next weekend's tournament."

Makenzie Hennen paced the Jackrabbits with her third-straight double-double. The senior recorded 19 kills and 11 digs, while adding two service aces. Also hitting double digit kill was Ashlynn Smith with 12. Crystal Burk, who was named to the EIU Panther Invitational All-Tournament team, added nine kills and 11 digs. Madison Fay dished out a total of 31 assists.

Defensively, Tatum Pickar posted 18 digs. Freshmen Carly Wedel, Anna Nerad and Tori Thompson completed three blocks each.

Drake quickly got ahead to a 9-1 advantage to start the match out. The Jacks capitalized on Drake errors to chip away at the deficit, trailing 14-9. However, the Bulldogs would score 11 of the final 16 points to capture the first set.

The two teams battled for a lead at the begging of set two until SDSU held a 6-5 edge. The Jackrabbits scored seven straight points, highlighted by two kills and a service ace from Hennen. The Bulldogs had a late four point run but it was too late to catch up to the Jacks to won the second set, 25-21.

State and Drake traded points until a 4-0 run gave the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead early into the third set. Six uninterrupted points by the Jacks, curteousy of kills from Smith and Nerad and two service aces by Fay, cut the deficit to one point. The teams traded leads until a big swing by Burk gave the Jack their first lead of the set. Several short runs led the Bulldogs to take the third set.

Drake scored the first four points of the fourth set. State would come as close as one point to the Bulldogs, but never saw a lead in the set. A 25-21 win in set four would seal a 3-1 win for Drake.

Game Notes

Makenzie Hennen registered her 19^th double-double today against Drake and third straight this season.
Crystal Burk was named to the EIU Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team after a career-best weekend.
The Jackrabbits are now 10-9 all-time against Drake.

Up Next
South Dakota State travels to Beaumont, Texas next weekend (Sept. 6-7) to compete in the Katrinka Crawford Invitational. The Jacks will face Louisiana Monroe (10 a.m.) and Lamar (7 p.m.) on Friday and Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 10 a.m.

-GoJacks.com-