JACKS OPEN SUMMIT ACTION AT SOUTH DAKOTA

Friday, September 24

Vermillion, S.D.

7 p.m. CT

South Dakota State University

South Dakota

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

9/23/2021 12:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

MATCH 12: South Dakota State (8-3, 0-0) at South Dakota (3-6, 0-0)

When	Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.
Where	Sanford Coyote Sports Center \| Vermillion, S.D.
TV	GoYotes.com/watch
Live Stats	GoYotes.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook

South Dakota State women's volleyball opens Summit League play on the road Friday with a trip to the University of South Dakota. The Jackrabbits will take on the Coyotes at 7 p.m. at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion.

SERIES HISTORY

State is 12-24 all-time against South Dakota. USD has swept all but one match in the previous 10 meetings. The teams last met in the spring for a pair of matches at Frost Arena during the delayed COVID-19 season. SDSU took one set off the Coyotes but fell 3-1 and 3-0.

Crystal Burk paced the Jackrabbits with 10 kills in the most recent matchup to go with 12 digs and three blocks. Akeela Jefferson and Tori Thompson recorded nine and four kills, respectively, and Tatum Pickar led the squad with 19 digs. Carly Wedel dished out 21 assists. Anna Nerad recorded three service aces.

Elizabeth Juhnke had 12 kills for the Coyotes in the last meeting, followed by 10 from Sami Slaughter. Madison Harms tallied five blocks and Madison Jurgens had 32 assists. Lolo Weideman tallied 17 digs.

THE JACKRABBITS

SDSU wrapped up non-conference action last weekend with an 8-3 record, the team's best start since 2012. The Jacks went 2-1 at Frost during the Jackrabbit Classic Sept. 17-18, picking up wins over Southeastern Louisiana (3-2) and Idaho (3-0) before falling to Drake in straight sets.

Crystal Burk and Carly Wedel earned all-tournament honors at the Jackrabbit Classic. Burk tops the League in kill average with 4.08 per set and has been the Jacks' kill leader in all but two matches this season. With a 10.03 assist average, Wedel is ranked second in the Summit heading into Friday's conference opener.

The Jackrabbits are hitting .248 so far this season, which ranks second among the League. SDSU has held opponents to a .160 clip, which also ranks second in the conference.

Chloe Stitt also sits among the top hitters in the conference. The Jackrabbit newcomer ranks eighth in kills per set with 3.08. Ella Thompson, a freshman, has played in all 40 sets and holds a .304 hitting percentage for SDSU. Thompson is also ranked in the conference blockers. She averages 1.11 blocks per set.

Tatum Pickar and Faith Saewert lead the back row with 4.12 and 3.15 digs per set, respectively.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

USD volleyball is off to a 3-6 start to the season. All three Coyote wins have come on home court as they went 3-0 at their home tournament two weeks ago. Most recently USD went 0-3 at the Shocker Classic hosted by Wichita State.

The Coyotes are led by Elizabeth Juhnke and Sami Slaughter, both All-League First Team picks last season. Juhnke was named MVP of the Summit League championship tournament in the spring and was an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. She averaged 3.29 kills per set in non-conference action, which ranks third among the Summit League. Slaughter is second on the USD squad with 2.35 kills per set.

Defensively, Lolo Weideman averages 4.59 digs per set. Weideman also has nine service aces this season and recently eclipsed the 1,000 career dig and 100 career ace marks. She is followed by Juhnke, who averages 2.91 digs. Madison Jurgens handles the setting duties for USD and gives out 9.24 assists per set.

USD holds the top spot on the Summit blocks list with a 2.47 per set average. Madison Harms leads the league individuals with 1.35 blocks on average.

LAST TIME OUT

The Jackrabbits dropped the final match of the Jackrabbit Classic 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-23) to the Drake Bulldogs. After a tough first two sets, the Jacks battled through set three but came up just short.

Down 22-18 in the third set, the Jackrabbits pushed for five-straight points to take a 23-22 lead. Three errors by the Jacks on the last three points, however, gave Drake the match sweep.

Tatum Pickar tallied 11 digs against the Bulldogs, a team high. Faith Saewert added eight. Crystal Burk again led Jackrabbits, attack notching 11 kills. She was followed by eight kills from Stitt. Stitt and Pickar had one ace serve apiece. Carly Wedel dished out 30 assists.

The loss snapped the Jackrabbits' win streak of 10-straight victories on home court.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Crystal Burk and Tatum Pickar were named the Jackrabbit players to watch in 2021 by the Summit League.

Burk paced the team in kills (213) and kills per set (3.74) in the 2020-21 season. She also played a key role in the Jackrabbit back row, totaling 188 digs and 3.30 digs per set last year. In total, Burk recorded 10 double-doubles and had double-digit kills in 14 matches.

Pickar led the SDSU defense last spring with 5.32 digs per set, which ranked second in the Summit. She also led the Jacks from the service line, notching 23 aces. She logged more than 10 kills in all but one match last year.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits will return to Brookings to hose North Dakota Tuesday evening at Frost Arena.

-GoJacks.com-