BROOKINGS, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota State volleyball dropped a tightly contested four-set match to Denver Thursday at Frost Arena. Only four total points separated the sides at the end of the night as set scores went 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 23-25.

The Jackrabbits fall to 3-12 on the season and 1-2 in Summit action while Denver moves to 4-7 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

The match featured 30 total tie scores and 12 lead changes across four sets. Denver had a slight edge in kills (48-46) and blocks (12-11), but the big difference came as the service line as the Pioneers posted a 9-2 advantage in aces. The Jackrabbits committed 11 service errors and Denver had 13.

Katie Van Egdom recorded 17 kills to pace the Jacks’ offense and contributed seven digs. Sylvie Zgonc and Sydni Schetnan chipped in nine kills apiece. Raegen Reilly gave out 38 assists and notched a pair of kills.

Rylee Martin led the defense with a career-best 14 digs, followed by Stella Winterfeld with 13 and Zgonc with nine. McKenna Moehrle took part in seven total blocks (one solo, six assisted), a new career high, and Schetnan was in on six rejections (two solo, four assisted).

Cadi Boyer, the reigning Summit League offensive player of the week, led the Pioneers with 12 kills, six blocks and three aces.

Set One: The teams traded points through the beginning of the opening set and the Jackrabbits led 14-11 following a block from Zgonc and Moehrle. Denver then strung together a 12-3 run to lead 23-17. SDSU pulled back within two with kills from Winter and Moehrle and a pair of Denver errors, then the Pios ended it with a Jackrabbit error and a kill. Both teams hit below .100 in the set.

Set Two: Kills from Schetnan, Zgonc and Reilly helped the Jackrabbits take a 6-3 lead. The Jacks scored six straight with three kills by Van Egdom to lead 13-5. Denver scored the next five points to come back within three, 13-10. The Pios continued to battle and trailed by one at 18-17. Zgonc and Van Egdom put down kills during a 3-0 run for the 21-17 lead, then another Van Egdom kill and a Denver error made it 23-18. Van Egdom ended the set with her 11th kill of the night.

Set Three: The Jackrabbits opened up an 8-3 lead over Denver in the third set. The Pioneers scored 10 of the next 14 points to go up 13-12. Sydni Schetnan put down a kill to even the set at 13-all. Down 18-17, the Jacks scored the next three points to lead by two. Denver tied the set again at 20, 21 and 22, then pushed for three of the last four points to take a 2-1 match lead.

Set Four: Neither side scored more than two consecutive points in the final set until Denver scored three straight to take a 16-14 lead. The Jackrabbits responded with a 3-0 run of their own to take the lead back at 17-16. The fourth set was tied four more times, then Denver took the lead back for good with a four-point run to go up 24-22. Winter notched a solo block to come back within one before Denver ended it.

NOTES

  • The Jackrabbits are now 3-22 all-time against Denver. SDSU’s lone Division I win over the Pioneers came in November of 2021 at the Summit League Tournament.
  • SDSU’s 27 attack errors matches the team’s highest mark for a four-set match this year. The Jacks’ .136 hitting percentage is the second-lowest of the year.


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South Dakota State hosts North Dakota State next Thursday at Frost Arena.