Jackrabbits host weekend invitational

Friday, September 20

Brookings, S.D.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Valparaiso

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

9/18/2019 11:06:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

MATCHES 10-12: South Dakota State (3-6) hosts Comfort Suites University Jackrabbit Invitational

When	Friday, Sept. 20 \| vs. Valparaiso (1 p.m.); vs. Milwaukee (7 p.m.) Saturday, Sept. 21 \| vs. Kansas City (noon)
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Video	Jackrabbits All-Access
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #PERFORM

The South Dakota State women's volleyball will begin its home slate as it hosts the Comfort Suites University Jackrabbit Invitational, Friday-Saturday.

The Jackrabbits take on Valparaiso (1 p.m.) and Milwaukee (7 p.m.) on Friday. SDSU will compete in the final match of the tournament on Saturday at noon against Kansas City.

Full Tournament Schedule
Friday, Sept. 20
Milwaukee vs. Kansas City - 10 a.m.
South Dakota State vs. Valparaiso - 1 p.m.
Kansas City vs. Valparaiso - 4 p.m.
South Dakota State vs. Milwaukee - 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 21
Valparaiso vs. Milwaukee - 10 a.m.
South Dakota State vs. Kansas City - noon

Last Time Out
The Jacks fell to 3-6 overall after going 0-3 at the Lumberjack Classic in Flagstaff, Ariz. last weekend. SDSU fell to Northern Arizona, 3-0 (14-25, 11-25, 16-25), Fresno State, 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 14-25, 17-25) and LSU, 3-0 (23-25, 14-25, 13-25)

Tatum Pickar was named to the all-tournament team after recording 33 digs and a service ace on the weekend.

Scouting the Opponents
Valparaiso holds a record of 4-6 after its first few weeks of competition this season. Most recently, the Crusaders went 1-2 at the DePaul Invitational, defeating Holy Cross (3-1) and falling to Central Michigan (3-1) and DePaul (3-0). Peyton McCarthy and Jillie Grand lead the offense for Valparaiso with 109 and 102 kills, respectively. Rylee Cookerly leads the back row defense with 186 digs, while Kara Cooper has 35 blocks. Leading the team in service aces is Brittany Anderson with 10. Carin Avery is in her 18 season as head coach of the Crusaders and has accumulated a record of 401-182. Valparaiso leads the all-time series against the Jacks, 2-4. South Dakota State last played the Crusaders at home in 2017, when it fell 3-0.

After experiencing early season success, Milwaukee enters the Comfort Suites University Jackrabbit Invitational with the best record of 9-1. Most recently Milwaukee hosted the Panther Invitational where it went 3-0, defeating SEMO (3-0), Butler (3-1) and Western Michigan (3-0). The Panther offense is led by Carmen Heilemann, who has recorded 106 kills, averaging 2.79 kills per set. Ari Miller and Kleja Cerniauskaite are tied for second on the team with 97 kills each. Rylie Vaughn has 227 assists, while Jenn Dore adds 213. Defensively, Jess Grabowski has a total of 198 digs, while Miller leads at the net with 29 blocks. Susie Johnson is in her 13th season as head coach at Milwaukee with a record of 206-160. The Jacks lead the all-time series against Milwaukee, 1-0, with the only meeting ending in a 3-0 decision in SDSU's favor.

Kansas City holds a 2-5 record after going 1-2 at the Mizzou Invitational. The Roos topped Austin Peay, 3-1, and fell to both Northern Iowa (3-1) and Missouri (3-0). UMKC has a balanced offense with Tyrecia Lukes, Alicia Harrington and Melanie Brecka pacing the team with 65,63 and 59 kills, respectively. Lukes holds a team-best hitting percentage of .375. Maddie Renn leads the team with 159 digs, while Harrington has a total of 150 digs. Mykal Sadler is the top blocker for the Roos with 18 blocks. UMKC is under the direction of ninth-year head coach Christi Posey who holds a record of 128-106. The Jackrabbits hold an 11-7 advantage over the Roos in the all-time series. During the 2018 season, the Jacks fell to UMKC in their season opener, 3-0.

Position Rundown
Outside Hitters

Makenzie Hennen has a total of 104 kills, 678 digs and 10 blocks. She has recorded double digit kill totals in six of the nine matches the Jacks have played, while registering a double-double in four matches. The senior holds a hitting percentage of .165 including a career best mark of .556 in the Jacks' win over Prairie View A&M. Hennen ranks seventh in the Summit League in total kills (104) and fifth in kills per set (3.15).
Crystal Burk has tallied 76 kills, nine service aces and 68 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. The sophomore was named to the EIU Panther Invitational all-tournament team.
Ranking third in kills with 70 is Ashlynn Smith, who also has 23 digs, 14 blocks and eight service aces. The senior was named to the Katrinka Crawford Invitational all-tournament team.

Middles

A pair of freshman, in Anna Nerad and Tori Thompson, cover the middle for the Jacks. Nerad has led SDSU's blocking in all six-matches including a career high of seven blocks against Louisiana Monroe. She has a total of 35 blocks, 46 kills and 20 digs. Thompson has tallied 43 kills and 12 blocks, including a career-best performance against Fresno State with 12 kills on a .550 hitting percentage.

Back Row

Tatum Pickar paces the Jacks with 116 digs, averaging 3.52 digs per set. She has also posted six service aces. Drew McDougall has earned some playing time as a freshman and has tallied 27 digs.

Setters

Madison Fay ranks fifth in the Summit League with 195 assists, while Carly Wedel has a total of 98 assists.

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-