SDSU 2-1 at Jackrabbit Classic

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BROOKINGS – SDSU volleyball improved to 8-2 on the season with a 2-1 performance at the Jackrabbit Classic over the weekend. 

The Jackrabbits beat Southeastern Louisiana in five sets and swept Idaho on Friday. They were then swept by Drake on Saturday.

Friday

 SDSU 3, Southeastern Louisiana 2

The Jacks took the first set 25-19. SELA would respond with wins in sets two and three by the score of 25-20 and 25-21. SDSU dominated the fourth set with a 25-14 victory. 

SDSU head coach Dan Georgalas said even though SELA was 0-7 coming into the match, the Lions did a good job of executing.

“A lot of credit to Southeastern, “ Georgalas said. “I thought they just had an awesome offense, inside-out game tonight. Obviously I didn’t do a good enough job of preparing to stop them. We talked all week about how much we respect them, even though they were 7-0 on the season. We respect every opponent the same way and our process in the same every way. We just had a tough time executing that philosophy. That comes back to me doing a better job of practicing during the week.”

The Lions got out to a 2-0 lead in the deciding fifth set. SDSU would then rattle off five-straight points to take a 5-2 lead.

SELA would close to within a point at 8-7, but the Jacks scored three-straight to make it 11-7. The Lions cut it to 11-8, but SDSU scored four of the next five points to come away with a 15-9 fifth set win and match victory.

“We had a fast start from the service line. The thing we tried to flip in the middle of the match was our defensive intensity and try to dig some more balls, and limit their side out and their kill percentage. I think our team did a great job of separating the first three sets for what we were able to accomplish in the last two, and ultimately that allowed us to start strong in the fifth set,” Georgalas said.

Senior Crystal Burk had a huge game for the Jacks. She had 21 kills, 12 digs and three blocks. Georgalas said Burk is the heart and soul of his team.

“She carries us,” he said. “She does all the skills. She attacks and passes. She serves, she blocks, she digs. She had another wonderful performance and her positive vibe and positive mindset really help us. She’s one of our best competitors.”

Chloe Stitt and Sydney Andrews each had 10 kills. Hailee Blau had nine kills. Faith Saewert had 24 digs. Carly Wedel had 59 assists and 11 digs. Jadyn Makovicka had 10 digs.

The Lions were led by Karlee Wilkerson who had 15 kills. Crispin Adams had 12 kills and three blocks. Gracie Duplechein had 46 assists and 12 digs. Ansley Tullis had 17 digs.

SDSU had 66 kills and 69 digs. The Jacks also had 16 blocks and 62 assists. The Lions had 55 kills and 54 assists. They had 62 digs and nine blocks.

• SDSU 3, Idaho 0

It was all SDSU in this match. The Jacks won in straight sets by scores of 25-19, 25-11 and 25-16.

Burk led the Jacks again with 15 kills and four digs. Stitt had 10 kills and Blau had six. Wedel had 25 assists and eight digs. Saewart had 10 digs and seven assists.

The Jacks had 38 kills and 30 digs. The Vandals 23 kills and 27 digs.

 Drake 3, SDSU 0

Unlike the second match, SDSU was dominated in the third match. Drake won in straight sets by scores of 25-13, 25-13 and 25-23.

Burk had 11 kills and four digs. Wedel had 30 assists and seven digs. Stitt had eight kills and five digs. Tatum Pickar had 11 digs and Saewert had eight.

Mariana Rodrigues led Drake with 17 kills. Emily Plock had 11 digs and seven kills. Kylee Macke had 10 digs. Haley Busch had 12 kills and 13 digs. Madeline Holt had 23 assists and Caitlyn Smith had 11.

Drake had 44 kills and SDSU had 33. The Bulldogs had 49 digs and the Jacks had 42. SDSU had 32 assists and Drake had 42. The Bulldogs also had eight service aces. Each team had seven blocks.

Back to winning

With the two wins this weekend the Jacks are now 8-2. The eight wins are the most for SDSU since 2012 when the Jacks won 16 games. It’s the second time SDSU has won over six games in the past nine seasons. SDSU went 7-25 in 2012.

Georgalas’ goal for his team in his second season as head coach was to have a winning record. SDSU is halfway there with eight wins. He said he is proud of his team for the way they have started, but they still have a lot of work to do.

“We’re happy with [start]. Now it’s about staying humble and making sure our process is the same every week, and we respect the opponents every week. We’re happy for early success we’ve had, but there’s still a lot to accomplish this season,” Georgalas said.

The Jacks open up Summit League on Friday at South Dakota. First set is scheduled for 7 p.m.