SDSU OUTLASTS OMAHA IN 5-SET THRILLER

Thursday, September 25

Brookings, S.D.

7:00 p.m.

South Dakota State University

7-3,1-0Summit League

Omaha

3-7,0-1Summit League

Omaha

South Dakota St.

Photo by: Riley Edds

9/25/2025 11:42:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BROOKINGS, S.D. - South Dakota State volleyball rallied past Omaha in a five-set battle (25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-12) Thursday night at First Bank & Trust Arena.

Only five points separated the teams at the end of the night as four of five sets were won by three points or fewer. The match featured 41 tie scores and 14 lead changes.

The Jackrabbits improve to 7-2 on the season and start Summit League action 1-0. Omaha falls to 3-7 and is 0-1 in conference play.

Setter Rylee Martin had an all-around night for the Jackrabbits, nearly posting a triple-double. The junior dished a season-high 53 assists, five off her career high, to go with 12 digs and a career-high seven kills. She hit .414 for the match and added three block assists.

In addition to Martin, all five Jackrabbit attackers notched at least seven kills in the match. SDSU's offense was led by Hannah Klein, who set a new career high with 17 kills. The freshman also had four blocks and four digs. Sylvie Zgonc followed with 16 kills and was joined in double figures by Madison Burr with 10. Annalee Ventling-Brown finished with nine kills at an efficient .471 clip. Sydni Schetnan added seven kills for the Jackrabbits.

Defensively, the Jacks had 11 blocks as a team, led by Schetnan with three block assists and two solo rejections. Burr also took part in five blocks, all assisted. SDSU posted 73 digs, paced by 16 for Joslyn Richardson and 12 apiece for Rachel Wieber and Martin. Wieber also contributed two of SDSU's five ace serves.

Omaha's Faith Venable paced the Mavericks with 25 kills and 13 digs while Kali Jurgensmeier added 20 kills and two blocks. Julia Owens and Davis Guetterman combined for 50 assists, and libero Sarah Galligan led the defense with 17 digs.

Statistically, both teams were evenly matched in kills (66 each), but South Dakota State held a slight edge in hitting percentage (.235 to .226) and blocks (11 to 8). SDSU also recorded five service aces to Omaha's three, though both teams struggled with service errors — 10 for SDSU and 13 for Omaha. The Jackrabbits out-dug the Mavericks 73-66.

Set 1: The opening set featured eight ties and four lead changes. SDSU got three early kills from Zgonc, then a kill from Schetnan gave the Jacks a 7-6 lead. Omaha put together a 6-1 run to go up 12-8. Omaha maintained its lead but SDSU stayed within striking distance. The Jackrabbits used a timeout down three at 19-16, then scored four straight points out of the break to take the lead at 20-19. Wieber delivered her second ace of the set during the run. The Mavericks regained the lead at 22-20 with a 3-0 run. Burr put down a kill to pull SDSU back within one, then Zgonc tied the set again with a kill that made it 22-all. Omaha went up 23-22 on a kill, but SDSU closed strong with back-to-back kills from Klein and won the set on an Omaha attack error.

Set 2: Omaha capitalized on SDSU's 10 attack errors in the second frame. The Mavericks opened with a kill and, despite nine ties, would not trail the rest of the set. SDSU trailed by three at 20-17, but got consecutive kills from Klein and then a solo block by Schetnan to tie things up again at 20. With Omaha leading 24-21, Klein and Ventling-Brown tallied kills to fend off a pair of set points before an SDSU service error won the set for Omaha.

Set 3: Set three was another back-and-forth set with 12 ties and five lead changes. Neither side led by more than two until 6-1 run by Omaha at the midway point put the Mavericks up 17-14. The sides traded points out of an SDSU timeout, then an Omaha kill and Jackrabbit attack error put the Mavs up 24-20. The Jacks got two points back on a kill by Klein and block from Schetnan before Omaha put the set away with a kill.

Set 4: Set four was another tight one and neither team managed a three-point lead until midway through. Burr notched an ace to cap a 4-0 SDSU run to lead 14-11. Omaha worked back to tie the set at 15. The Jacks again led by three at 22-19 following a kill and two blocks from Burr during a 3-0 stretch. Up 22-20, SDSU won the set with a kill from Burr, solo block by Klein and kill by Schetnan.

Set 5: Omaha took an early 3-1 lead but SDSU answered with nine of the next 10 points to go up 10-4. The Mavericks chipped away at the deficit and came all the way back to within two at 14-12. An Omaha attack error won the match for SDSU.

NOTES

Hannah Klein had a team high kills for the first time this season.
SDSU picked up its third straight win over Omaha. Omaha still leads the all-time series 40-25.

UP NEXT
SDSU is off this weekend. The Jackrabbits return to action on the road Thursday, October 2 at Denver.

-GoJacks.com-