BROOKINGS, S.D. (SDSU) – South Dakota State volleyball collected its seventh straight victory on Saturday in Frost Arena during a competitive three-set sweep of North Dakota State (25-23, 25-23, 26-24).
Saturday was also Senior Day for the Jackrabbits, as Sydney Andrews, Crystal Burk, Jadyn Makovicka, Anna Nerad and Carly Wedel were each honored following the match.
SDSU (17-13, 11-7 Summit) outhit the Bison .314 to .269, despite NDSU (20-10, 13-5 Summit) holding the 52-47 advantage on total kills. The Jacks led with 50 digs and tallied four service aces.
Crystal Burk shook the floor of Frost Arena with 20 total kills on the afternoon for a new season-high in a three set match. Masa Scheierman also smacked down double-digit kills with 10 as Ella Thompson finished with eight kills off a .583 clip and assisted on six blocks.
Raegen Reilly and Scheierman had 10 digs a piece while Reilly gave out 38 assists.
Michelle Artis led the attack for NDSU with 16 kills while Logan O’Brien had 13 digs and Kelley Johnson had 39 assists.
The first set was a tight and gritty contest that featured 12 ties and five lead changes. After trading kills to start the match, NDSU established several three-point leads throughout the set, but the Jacks were able to tie it back up each time. The final tie came at 22-22 and, after a kill from Burk and an NDSU attack error, SDSU took set one 25-23.
Set two featured another round of tough competition between the two teams. The Bison took the early lead 11-8, but the Jacks came firing back with seven straight points to jump ahead 15-11. SDSU’s hitting remained hot and despite a 3-0 run from NDSU near the end of the set, SDSU won 25-23.
The final set started with the Jacks in control, as they burst out to an 13-4 lead early on. NDSU scored six straight to cut the lead to three, but SDSU strung together a 5-1 run to go ahead 20-14. Another five straight points from the Bison put the game at 20-19 and eventually became tied 24-24. A kill from Scheierman and a block from Elyse Winter and Thompson sealed the Jackrabbit victory.
NOTES
SDSU’s seven consecutive wins is its longest streak of the season
SDSU’s 176 total services aces this season is a new program single-season record
With her 20 kills today, Crystal Burk has moved up to third place on SDSU’s career kills list. She passed Wendy Windschitl (1,581) and now has 1,597 kills in her career
UP NEXT
SDSU will head to Omaha for the Summit League Volleyball Tournament. The first game is set for Thursday, Nov. 24 with an opponent and time to be announced.