Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball versus Yellow & Blue Scrimmage on August 8, 2026 at 11:00 a.m.
/
11:00 a.m.
Women's Volleyball
vs Yellow & Blue Scrimmage
South Dakota State University Athletics
Sunday, January 24
Des Moines, IA
1 p.m.
South Dakota State University
at
Drake
Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media
VOLLEYBALL RETURNS TO PLAY AT DRAKE
1/22/2021 10:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
| Match 1 | South Dakota State (0-0) at Drake (1-0) |
| When | Sunday, Jan. 24 | 1 p.m. |
| Where | Knapp Center | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Video | ESPN3 |
| Live Stats | GoDrakeBulldogs.com |
| Game Notes | South Dakota State |
| Social Media | Twitter I Facebook |
The South Dakota State women's volleyball team will open its season as it travels to Drake Sunday . The match is slated for 1 p.m. inside the Knapp Center. The Jackrabbits are under the direction of first year head coach Dan Georgalas.
Scouting the Opponents
Drake
The Bulldogs return 11 players from a team that went 9-22 overall and 3-15 in Missouri Valley Conference play, including 2019 All-MVC selection Emily Plock. The senior tallied 472 kills and 11 double-doubles last season. Kaylee Macke paced the Bulldogs defensively as she recorded 615 digs on the season. Drake adds six incoming freshman to its roster and transfer Lindsey Pliapol led USF with 3.10 kills per set as a sophomore.
Drake opened its season Friday with a 3-1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-15, 25-18) win over UNI. Plock led the Bulldogs with 19 kills and 15 digs. Freshman Jada Wills tallied 16 kills and 13 digs, while Caitlyn Smith dished 44 assists. Drake will play Western Illinois on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Darrin McBroom is in his eighth season at the helm of the Bulldogs with a record of 99-128.
POSITION RUNDOWN
Outside Hitters
- Crystal Burk is the top returner for the Jackrabbits offensively. Last season she tallied 279 kills, 20 service aces and 299 digs. She registered a career-best 20 kills against North Dakota State. She ranked second on the team in kills, kills per set (2.61), digs and digs per set (2.79). Additionally, she was third on the squad in service aces, fourth in assists (27) and fifth in blocks (30). Burk notched nine double-doubles and reached double digit kills in 12 matches.
- The Jackrabbits add outside hitters in freshmen Kate Nelson and Brooke Amann and transfer Hailee Blau.
- Nerad led SDSU's blocking in 14 matches last season. She totaled at team-best 80 blocks, while adding 100 kills and 51 digs.
- Thompson tallied 153 kills and 64 blocks, including a career-best performance against Fresno State with 12 kills on a .550 hitting percentage. Thompson held a team-best hitting clip of .243.
- Abbey Fryauf played in 24 sets, while recording 11 kills and 10 blocks.
- Sydney Andrews appeared in seven matches, including one start. She tallied seven kills and four blocks
- The Jackrabbits add freshman middle blocker Meghan Haan to the squad this season.
- Tatum Pickar paced the Jacks with 419 digs, averaging 3.92 digs per set. She also posted 19 service aces and 72 assists.
- Jada Barnes returns for her senior season after sitting out last season with an injury.
- Freshman Frankie Enna looks to make an impact defensively as a freshman.
- Carly Wedel and Madison Fay aided the offense last season with 480 and 477 assists, respectively. Wedel posted a career-best 51 assists against Milwaukee. Fay recorded a season hight of 45 assists against North Dakota. She also added 14 digs to register a double-double in the match.
- Midyear enrollee Jasmine Wiedemann joined the squad this semester.
South Dakota State's Crystal Burk and Tatum Pickar were recognized by the Summit League as Volleyball Players to Watch, announced Wednesday as part of the league's preseason outlook.
Last season, Crystal Burk ranked second on the team in kills (279), kills per set (2.61), digs (299) and digs per set (2.79). Additionally, she was third on the squad with 20 service aces, fourth in assists (27) and fifth in blocks (30). The Newnan, Ga. native registered nine double-doubles, reached 10-plus kills on 12 occasions and logged double digit digs in 16 matches.
Tatum Pickar led the team in digs (420) and digs per set (3.93) a season ago, while ranking third with 72 assists. She ranked fifth in the Summit League in digs per set and sixth in digs. The Cannon Falls, Minn. recorded double figure dig totals in 25 of the 28 matches she played in.
South Dakota State was tabbed eight in the league's preseason coaches' poll, earning 20 points. South Dakota was picked to win the league, Denver was second and the top five finished with Omaha third, and Kansas City fourth and North Dakota State fifth. North Dakota and Oral Roberts sat just ahead of the Jackrabbits in the rankings, with SDSU finishing ahead of Western Illinois in the poll.
Up Next
South Dakota State returns home for its Blue & Yellow Scrimmage on Monday. The scrimmage is not open to the public. The Jacks open Summit League action Jan. 31-Feb. 1 as they host Western Illinois at Frost Arena.
-GoJacks.com-
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