South Dakota State tops western Illinois in four sets

South Dakota State tops western Illinois in four sets.

BROOKINGS, SD – South Dakota State Volleyball earned a Summit League win Thursday night with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17 win ) over Western Illinois at Frost Arena. SDSU won sets one and two, stumbled in set three, and then rallied to take the match in set four.

The Jacks started the game with a 5-0 lead and extended that margin to 7-1. However, three errors in a row by the Jacks put Western Illinois within their grasp at 8-6. The Leathernecks went ahead 19-18 for their first lead of the set, but SDSU struggled to a 22-22 draw. Chloe Stitt scored a timely service ace to finish the set one 25-23 in favor of the home team.

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The Jacks struggled to drive the Leathernecks away again in the second set. Tatum Pickar had three consecutive service aces to push the Jacks to a 20-13 lead, but a 5-1 run for WIU turned it into a 21-18 game in favor of South Dakota state. The Leathernecks closed in on SDSU’s lead and held two set points before the Jacks took the 25-23 victory.

SDSU appeared to be heading for a sweep in the third set with a 15-10 lead. However, Western Illinois broke 8-1 on a timeout to advance 18-16 and force a Jackrabbit timeout. Ella Thompson scored a death and was associated with Jasmine Weidemann for a block to tie the set back at 18 apiece, then a WIU error gave the Jacks the lead back. WIU finished the set with another run, however, beating the Jacks 7-2 to take the third set.

The last set was back and forth until 11-11. The Jacks used a timeout to regroup and came out of the break looking like a different team. Tatum Pickar, scored his sixth race of the contest to give SDSU a 14-11 lead. SDSU pushed the lead to 19-13 and brought WIU as close as 20-17 before closing the game with five straight points.

Weidemann had 48 assists for the Jackrabbits in his first career start. The freshman nearly posted a double-double with nine hits. Chloe stitt’s 18 murders set the pace for the SDSU offensive and Sydney Andrews attacked with a .400 clip with nine kills.

Crystal Burk had 11 kills and 12 digs for the eighth double-double of his senior season. Pickar contributed 24 excavations to accompany his stellar performance from the service line. Andrews and Thompson participated in four blocks each.

The Jackrabbits improve to 10-6 overall and move to 2-3 in the Summit League.

NOTES

  • By jasmine Weidemann 48 assists are the fourth most by an SDSU point guard this season
  • Tatum Pickar’s six aces serve is two less than SDSU’s single-game record
  • Andrews (.400), Elyse Winter (.318), and Stitt (.286) had the three highest attack rates of any team
  • Jackrabbits are 6-1 at home in 2021

UNTIL NEXT TIME
The Jacks will continue their home stretch with a game against St. Thomas on Saturday at 7 pm at Frost Arena.