ST. PAUL, Minn. – The South Dakota State volleyball team extended its win streak to 18 Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-18) victory at St. Thomas. At 18-0 overall (6-0 Summit), SDSU is the lone unbeaten team in Division I.
The Jackrabbits hit .235 for the match and used 10 team blocks to hold the Tommies to .167. SDSU had the statistical edge in kills, 56-47, and blocks, 10-6. The sides notched four aces apiece.
Five Jackrabbits tallied at least five kills, led by 17 from Sylvie Zgonc and 15 from Sydni Schetnan. Zgonc’s recorded her 10th double-double of the season with a team-high 12 digs to go with two block assists. Schetnan hit .433 for the contest and took part in eight blocks.
Madison Burr chipped in eight kills while hitting .357 and had six digs. Katie Van Egdom added seven kills and Alyssa Groves had five. Groves also contributed four block assists.
Rylee Martin racked up 27 assists, nine digs and two ace serves for the Jacks. Camryn Honn dished 19 assists and had seven digs and two kills. Defensively, Alia Schlimgen posted 10 digs, her fifth match with at least 10 digs this season.
Ellie Gustafson (13 kills), Lauren Galvin (11) and Tezra Rudzitis (11) were all in double figures for the Tommie offense. Morgan Kealy recorded 37 assists and nine digs.
Set one: Six Jackrabbit attack errors in the early goings helped the Tommies out to a 16-7 lead. Three kills by Zgonc during a 5-1 run brought SDSU back within five at 17-12. The sides traded points until a 4-0 Tommie run to end the set.
Set two: Schetnan posted two kills during a 6-2 stretch that put the Jackrabbits ahead, 13-10. The Jacks scored three straight behind a pair a kills by Zgonc for a 19-14 lead. Burr and Van Egdom added kills over the final stretch to even that match at 1-1.
Set three: St. Thomas again led for the early part of the set. Down 7-9, SDSU got a block from Schetnan and Annalee Ventling-Brown, plus an ace and a kill from Martin and a kill from Groves to surge ahead, 11-9. Groves notched another kill, sparking another 4-0 run that ended with the Jacks up 16-12. St. Thomas battled back to tie the set at 20-all, then the Jackrabbits scored the final five points of the set. Schetnan had two kills and a block during the stretch.
Set four: With Martin on the service line, SDSU scored the first five points of the final set. Zgonc assisted Honn, then Honn assisted Zgonc on consecutive points for the 10-5 Jackrabbit advantage. Honn picked up three more assists on kills by Burr, Schetnan and Ventling-Brown to make it 13-8 for the Jacks. Van Egdom and Groves added kills, then a Tommie error made it 18-13. Zgonc and Schetnan put down kills and Groves had a solo block during a 3-0 run, setting up match point at 24-17. Schetnan won the match with her 15th kill of the afternoon.
NOTES
- SDSU is now 7-0 all-time against St. Thomas, all in St. Thomas’ Division I era.
- Sydni Schetnan’s 15 kills is a career best for a four-set match.
- The Jackrabbits’ 18-match win streak is the program’s longest since a 20-0 start in 1975.
UP NEXT
SDSU returns to Brookings to host South Dakota Tuesday night at First Bank & Trust Arena. First serve for the Interstate Series contest is set for 7 p.m.