Jackrabbits topple Bison in Summit League opener

Friday, September 27

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

North Dakota State

Photo by: SDSU Sports Information

9/27/2019 10:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The South Dakota State volleyball team topped North Dakota State, 3-1 (17-25, 25-18, 25-19, 26-24) in its Summit League opener on Friday night at Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits improved to 4-9 overall and 1-0 in Summit League action. NDSU fell to 5-8, 0-1 SL.

"I think the biggest thing tonight is that we played consistent and that's one thing that we have really struggle with," said head coach Nicole Cirillo. "Because of the consistency, we willed some things to happen rather than riding the roller coaster with the demeanor of the match itself."

Makenzie Hennen paced the Jacks with her third straight double-double, seventh on the season, with 18 kills and 15 digs while also recording three service aces. Also registering double digit kills was Ashlynn Smith with 10 on a .318 hitting percentage, as she also tied her career-best of six blocks. Carly Wedel aided the offense with 35 assists.

Crystal Burk defended the back row with 16 digs, while tying for a team-best three service aces and added nine kills. Abbey Fryauf registered four blocks as she earned a place in the starting lineup. Tatum Pickar posted 13 digs and five assists.

NDSU held an early 6-4 lead when kills from Hennen and Fryauf, coupled with a pair of Bison errors, gave the Jacks an 8-6 advantage. From there the teams alternated points as the score sat tied on six different occasions until the South Dakota State held a 16-15 edge thanks to kills from Hennen and Smith. However, the Bison went on a pair of 5-0 runs to capture the first set, 25-17.

Back-to-back service aces by Hennen gave the State an early 6-4 edge to begin the second set. The Bison gained a 14-11 advantage, however, it wouldn't last long as the Jacks recorded five unanswered points to regain the lead. SDSU held just a 19-18 edge but scored the final six straight points of the match to take set two, 25-18. The Jacks' final run included kills from Tori Thompson, Smith, Hennen and a service ace from Burk.

The entirety of the third set saw 13 ties and three lead changes. The score remained close up until it was tied at 15-15, when the Jacks recorded several shorts runs to finally pull away. Big swings from Smith and Hennen sealed a third set win (25-19) for SDSU.

The Jacks held a 5-2 advantage to begin the fourth set, but the Bison went on a 7-2 run to take the lead. After several short runs, SDSU fought back to a 18-13 lead. North Dakota State would answer with short runs of its own to gain a 24-23 edge. Three Bison attack errors gave the Jacks their first conference win of the season with a 26-24 fourth set victory.

Game Notes

The last time that the Jacks won its Summit League opener was in 2012 against Omaha (3-1).
South Dakota State hit .174 on the match compared to the Bison at .128.
The Jacks out-blocked North Dakota State 9-6.
Makenzie Hennen recorded her seventh double-double of the season, third in a row.
SDSU is now 78-20 all-time against the Bison.

Up Next
South Dakota State will host Western Illinois at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls for its annual Pink Match on Sunday.

The team is supporting breast cancer awareness at it raises money to benefit the Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Foundation with an online auction for its pink jerseys. Fans can also donate at CrowdRise.com.

-GoJacks.com-