VOLLEYBALL WELCOMES NORTH DAKOTA

Friday, March 12

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

North Dakota

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

3/11/2021 5:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Matches 14 & 15 | South Dakota State (3-10, 3-9) vs. North Dakota (2-10, 2-8)

When	Friday, March 12 - 7 p.m. \| Saturday, March 13 - 7 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Video	GoJacks.com/Watch
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

The South Dakota State women's volleyball returns to Frost Arena for its final home series of the season as it hosts North Dakota Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13. Match times are scheduled for 7 p.m. both days. The Jackrabbits will honor seniors Madison Fay and Jada Barnes on Saturday.

The Jackrabbits are 53-32 all-time against the Fighting Hawks. The two teams split a pair of matches last season. The Jackrabbits won the meeting in Brookings, 3-1, and fell on the road, 3-2.

State, who is currently 3-10 overall and 3-9 in Summit League play, snapped a nine-match losing streak with a 3-0 victory at Omaha last week. The Jacks improved to sixth place in the league standings.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS
North Dakota is 2-10 overall and 2-8 in Summit League play. The Fighting Hawks look to snap an eight-match losing streak as it has played the top four team in the Summit League throughout the last month.

Leading the Mavericks is Lexi Ahrens, who ranks fourth in the Summit League with a .332 hitting percentage. Ahrens leads the Fighting Hawks with 102 kills, averaging 2.43 kills per set. Additionally, she paces the team with 30 blocks. Darian Chwialkowski is tied for fifth in the league with 16 service aces and is second in digs per set with 5.17.

Jeremiah Tiffin is in his second season at the helm of the Fighting Hawks with a record of 14-28.

POSITION RUNDOWN
Outside Hitters

Crystal Burk leads team and ranks fifth in the Summit League with 3.42 kills per set. She registered a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs in the season opener against Drake. Against Western Illinois, she averaged 4.33 kills per set and added another double-double early in the season with 12 kills and 11 digs. Burk recorded 13 kills against Denver Feb. 15. She ranks fifth in the Summit League with 3.30 kills per set. Burk recorded a season-high 16 kills Feb. 21 and had 13 kills and 14 digs Feb. 22. Burk finished with two double-doubles against South Dakota, combining for 25 kills and 25 digs in the two matches. Against Omaha, she tallied back-to-back doubles with 10 kills and 16 digs and 13 kills and 17 digs, respectively. Burk has notched 20 double-doubles in her career, including the last five consecutive matches.
Akeela Jefferson finished with two career-bests against NDSU, recording 12 kills on Feb. 7 and 12 digs on Feb. 8. Jefferson recorded nine kills and 11 digs against Denver Feb. 14. Jefferson matched her career best in kills (12) in the second match vs. Kansas City Feb. 21. Jefferson hit nine kills in both matches vs. South Dakota and has recorded at least five kills in every match this season. The sophomore tallied 10 and 11 kills, respectively, at Omaha. She ranks ninth in the Summit League with 2.80 kills per set.
A pair of new faces to the roster made their Jackrabbit debut at Drake. Hailee Blau tallied nine kills and a block at Drake, while Brooke Amann ranked second on the team with 15 digs. Blau tallied nine and six kills, respectively, in the pair of matches against Western Illinois. Kate Nelson made her Jackrabbit debut against Western Illinois. Blau reached a career high in kills with 10 against Kansas City Feb. 22. Amann recorded 10 digs against Kansas City Feb. 21.

Middles

Tori Thompson is the team leader in blocks with 28 so far this season. She recorded five kills, two blocks and a service ace in the season opener. Thompson has recorded at least one block in 10 of the 11 matches this season, including a career-best seven against Kansas City Feb. 22. Thompson hit 10 kills and recorded four blocks in the first match against South Dakota. Last season she tallied 153 kills and 64 blocks.
Anna Nerad has played in 21 sets this season. Against Western Illinois she tallied six kills and one block. In the win over Omaha she tallied six kills and three blocks.
Sydney Andrews posted a team-best three blocks at Drake. In the second match against Western Illinois, she hit an impressive .643, including nine kills on 14 attack attempts. Andrews combined to record 13 kills and 10 blocks against Kansas City. She appeared in seven matches, including one start a season ago.
The Jackrabbits add freshman middle blocker Meghan Haan to the squad this season.

Back Row

Tatum Pickar leads the Summit League in digs per set with 5.30. Against Drake, Pickar led the team with 16 digs. In the pair of matches against Western Illinois, she tallied 14 and 19 digs, respectively. Pickar combined for 19 digs in the matches against Denver. In the second match against Kansas City, Pickar recorded a game-high 30 digs to set a new career high. The total ranks second among individual match performers in the Summit League this season. Against USD, Pickar had 23 digs in the first match and 19 in the second. She was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week March 9 thanks to a 6.83 digs per set performance as the Jacks split a pair of matches at Omaha.
Jada Barnes tallied five digs and a service ace in her first match as a Jackrabbit after sitting out last season with an injury. Barnes recorded a career-high 14 digs in the five-set loss over Kansas City Feb. 22. Barnes ranks third on the team in digs with 77.
Freshman Frankie Enna looks to make an impact defensively as a freshman.

Setters

Carly Wedel posted 34 assists, two service aces and two blocks in the season opener. Against Western Illinois, she tallied 34 and 39 assists, respectively. Wedel combined for 23 digs in the two matches against Kansas City. Wedel continued to pile on the assists in the first match against South Dakota, recording 45 in four sets played. She ranks fifrh in the Summit League with 9.26 assists per set.
Madison Fay recorded 27 assists Feb. 15 vs. Denver. Wedel and 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, but will not be eligible to play until next season.

Up Next
South Dakota State will travel to Oral Roberts March 19-20 for its regular season finale.

-GoJacks.com-