VOLLEYBALL WRAPS UP REGULAR SEASON AT ORU

Matches 16 & 17 | South Dakota State (5-10, 5-9) vs. Oral Roberts (2-12, 2-10)

When	Friday, March 19 - 7 p.m. \| Saturday, March 20 - 5 p.m.
Where	Cooper Aerobics Center \| Tulsa, Okla.
Video	ORUAthletics.com/Watch
Live Stats	ORUAthletics.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

South Dakota State women's volleyball heads back on the road for its final series of the regular season as it travels to Oral Roberts March 19-20. First serve is set for 7 p.m. March 19 and 5 p.m. March 20.

The Jackrabbits are 6-16 all-time against the Golden Eagles. The two teams split last season's matchups with Oral Roberts taking the first match, 3-1 in Tulsa, and SDSU won the second in four sets in Brookings.

State, who is currently 5-10 overall and 5-9 in Summit League play, is on a three-match winning streak after sweeping the series against North Dakota March 12-13. The Jacks have taken nine of the last 11 sets against opponents and are in sixth place in the Summit League. The Jacks are the league leaders in digs per set with 17.75.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts is 2-12 overall and 2-10 in conference play. The Golden Eagles lost both of their nonconference matches to open the season. ORU's two wins came in a series sweep against Western Illinois Feb. 7-8. Since then, it has lost eight consecutive matches. The Golden Eagles have played in seven five-set matches this season.

Despite the 2-12 record, ORU ranks second in the conference in both total blocks (104) and service aces (92). It ranks fourth in the conference in kills with 697 (11.81 per set).

ORU is hitting .154 as a team and its opponents are hitting .190.

Aixa Vigil leads the offensive attack with 160 kills (3.27 per set) while Kaia Dunford and Jaxie Wakley are also in triple digits in total kills with a combined 266. Bryanne Soares is the team leader in assists with 355, over 200 more assists than the team's second place holder.

Defensively, Sarah Thiessen has 252 digs and Wakley has 51 blocks.

Frank Craig III is in his first season with the team after serving on the coaching staff for five years. Oral Roberts is coming off of back-to-back losing seasons.

POSITION RUNDOWN
Outside Hitters

Crystal Burk leads the team and ranks fifth in the Summit League with 3.63 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. 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. In the five-set win over North Dakota, Burk registered a career-high 27 kills, which tied for the game high in the Summit League this season. Burk has notched 21 double-doubles in her career, including the last six matches.
Akeela Jefferson recorded 12 kills against NDSU on Feb. 7 and 12 digs on Feb. 8. Jefferson recorded nine kills and 11 digs against Denver Feb. 14. Jefferson matched her then-career best in kills (12) in the second match vs. Kansas City Feb. 21. The sophomore tallied 10 and 11 kills, respectively, at Omaha. Jefferson finished with a career-high 14 kills March 13 against North Dakota after hitting 12 the night before and has recorded double-digit kills in four consecutive matches. She ranks eighth in the Summit League with 2.92 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 and combined for 16 kills in the two matches vs. North Dakota. Amann recorded 10 digs against Kansas City Feb. 21.

Middles

Tori Thompson is the team leader in blocks with 31 so far this season. She is coming off a match where she recorded eight kills, three digs and two blocks. Thompson has recorded at least one block in 12 of the 13 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 29 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. Nerad hit a career-high seven kills against North Dakota and combined for 12 kills last weekend. Nerad has recorded a service ace in six consecutive matches.
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 is second in the Summit League in digs per set with 5.43. 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. A week later, Pickar combined for 49 digs in the two matches vs. North Dakota, earning her second Defensive Player of the Week honors in as many weeks.
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 comes into the series vs. ORU with a streak of three consecutive matches with eight-plus kills. Barnes ranks third on the team in digs with 110.
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. Wedel finished with 13 and seven digs in the first and second game, respectively against UND. She ranks fifth in the Summit League with 8.98 assists per set.
Madison Fay recorded 27 assists Feb. 15 vs. Denver. On Senior Day, Fay registered a season-high 11 digs. 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 high 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.

-GoJacks.com-

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Players Mentioned

Brooke Amann

Sydney Andrews

Jada Barnes

Hailee Blau

Crystal Burk

Frankie Enna

Madison Fay

Meghan Haan

Akeela Jefferson

Kate Nelson

Anna Nerad

Tatum Pickar

Tori Thompson

Carly Wedel

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