Junior Nazya Thies and sophomore Mikala Hora combined for 23 kills to help the South Dakota State volleyball team sweep South Dakota, 25-22, 25-21 and 25-20 Tuesday in Summit League action.
With the win, the Jackrabbits improve to 2-20 overall, 1-4 in league play and secure SDSU’s first point in the SD Corn South Dakota Showdown Series. USD falls to 7-12 and 1-5.
“Well played match. It all came together. We’ve been playing on the road a lot. The last time we were home we played well. We were able to pull everything together this time and get the win. I’m extremely excited,” first-year head coach Nicole Cirillo said.
Thies (Winside, Neb.) collected a team-best 12 kills and hit .346 with 6 digs. Hora posted her fifth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs. Freshman Mattison Munger (Council Bluffs, Iowa) recorded her fourth double-double with 35 set assists and 11 digs.
Defensively, senior Lizzie Palmer (Sioux Falls) had a team-best 13 digs and freshman Ellie Benson (Sioux Falls) added 10.
Audrey Reeg led South Dakota with 14 kills and 11 digs. Brittany Jessen had a double-double with 35 set assists and 14 digs. Lauren Mattison collected 14 digs.
The Jackrabbits took control of the match in the first set opening with a 9-2 run that included a pair of kills from Thies. SDSU built a 14-9 lead before the Coyotes used a 5-1 run to pull within 15-14. USD errors along with kills by Hora, Munger, sophomore Ashley Beaner (Sioux Falls) and a block by Thies and senior Wagner Larson (Sioux Falls) push the Jacks’ lead to 21-16. SDSU won the set on a Larson kill.
After eight ties in the second set, South Dakota State ran off three straight points with a pair of kills by Hora and one from senior Kacey Herrmann (Rapid City) to put SDSU up 20-17. USD got as close as 23-21, but the Jackrabbits used a Coyote error and a service ace from Herrmann to lead the match 2-0.
SDSU built a 17-9 lead in the third set collecting 10 kills and a service ace. USD used a 6-3 run to pull within five, 20-15, but the Jackrabbits defeated South Dakota in three sets in Frost Arena for the first time since Nov. 3, 2001.
