Jacks Avenge Early-Season Loss to Valparaiso

VALPARAISO, IN -- The South Dakota State volleyball team avenged a five-set loss to Valparaiso at the Hawkeye Challenge on Aug. 25, with a 3-1 win against the Crusaders on Wednesday by the set scores of 25-21, 14-25, 15-14 and 25-19.

The Jackrabbits improve to 11-4 with the win, while the homestanding Crusaders fall to 9-8.

"Defensively we were solid, we needed to dig a lot of ball against a very scrappy Valpo team and we did," head coach Phil McDaniel said. "The other focus for us was to take control of the net, and with 13 blocks, we definitely achieved that as well."

The Jacks not only held the Crusaders to six total team blocks, but also held the home team without a block in both the third and fourth sets.  

Kelli Fiegen led the Jackrabbit blockers with six block assists and with two solo blocks to go along with her match-high 12 kills. Kelly Herrmann finished with four block assists, adding 11 each in kills and digs to complete her second double-double of the season. Kaitlin Klingemann finished with four block assists and one solo block, adding 10 kills in the win.

Shay Birath led the Jackrabbit defense with 26 digs, while Lexi Fowler posted her team-high fifth double-double of the season with 20 set assists and 10 digs.

Mary Dent led Valpo with nine kills. Morgan Beil, Sarah Dooms and Kelsey Victor all added eight kills in the loss.

Trailing by as many as five points in the first set 14-9, the Jackrabbits used a 7-0 run to take the lead for good on the way to a 25-21 first set win.

After hanging around early in the second set, the Crusaders used a series of short runs to take a commanding 10-point lead before winning the set 25-14.

The Jackrabbits left no doubt about the outcome of the third set, opening the set on an 8-0 run and never letting the home team get any closer than five points the rest of the way in the 25-14 win.

The fourth set started with seven ties and four early lead changes before the Jacks broke a 15-all tie with a 4-0 run to take the lead for good. Valpo would get no closer than three points the rest of the set.

The Jackrabbits return to Summit League action on Friday at IPFW at 7 p.m., before wrapping up the weekend at Oakland on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

Courtesy:  South Dakota State University