The South Dakota State volleyball team swept its three games at the Georgia State Invitational over the weekend.

It was the first tournament of the year for the Jackrabbits. They play in the Western Illinois Invitational this weekend.

Friday

Sylive Zgonc picked up right where she left off a season ago, averaging 6.33 kills per set at a .408 clip over two matches and posting a double-double in both contests. Sydni Scetnan also had a solid day, notching 3.0 kills per set while hitting .361 and taking part in 10 blocks.

South Dakota State vs. Florida A&M - W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-19)

Zgonc opened her sophomore campaign with a bang Friday morning. She put down 25 kills against the Rattlers, setting a new career high for kills in a three-set match and finishing one kill shy of her overall career high. The mark also ties the program record for kills in a three-set match. Zgonc registered a .548 attack rate, the second best of her career, on 42 swings.

On the offensive end, Zgonc was followed by Schetnan's eight kills and .316 attack rate. Alyssa Groves tallied six kills in her Jackrabbit debut, followed by Katie Van Egdom  and freshman Madison Burr with five apiece.

Rylee Martin dished 37 assists for the Jacks, a new career high for the sophomore.

Defensively, Zgonc again led the way with 14 digs. Libero Joslyn Richardson added eight digs to go with three assists. Alia Schlimgen and Rachel Wieber added seven and six digs, respectively. Schetnan and Burr took part in four block assists each.

Brooke Lynn Watts had 10 kills to pace the Rattlers.

Set one: Zgonc put down three of her 10 first-set kills for the Jacks' first three points of the season, then had two more during a 4-0 run for the 9-6 lead. The Jacks led 15-10 before a 5-0 stretch by FAMU tied the set up. SDSU regained the lead with kills from Burr and Zgonc. Two more Zgonc kills made it 20-17 for the Jackrabbits. Schetnan finished off the set with a kill for the 25-21 final.

Set two: Four straight points with kills from Groves and Van Egdom and a block by Burr and Martin pushed the Jacks ahead, 7-5. A 5-0 stretch spurred by a pair of Zgonc kills and a Martin ace made it 15-8. SDSU pushed its lead to 22-11 during a 4-0 run that featured a kill and a block from Burr. Zgonc and Van Egdom recorded a kill apiece over the final three points that made it 25-15 for SDSU.

Set three: FAMU jumped ahead early in the final set before the Jacks took control with an 8-1 run that made it 13-9. Zgonc had four kills in the stretch and Schetnan added two kills and a block. The sides traded points until Wieber held serve for four points and notched her first ace as a Jackrabbit to make it 23-16. Zgonc had the final two kills for the 25-19 set victory and to secure the sweep.

SDSU vs. Georgia State - W, 3-0 (25-24, 25-19, 25-17)

Zgonc and Schetnan again paced the Jackrabbits in the second match of the day. Zgonc posted another double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs while Schetnan contributed 10 kills and six blocks.

Martin tallied 35 assists in the contest and had five digs and three kills of her own. Richardson posted 12 digs and Wieber recorded three aces in the third set.

Georgia State's Keionna Mackey had 10 kills to lead the Panthers.

Set one: SDSU led 9-5 to start the set, then five straight from the Panthers gave the home team the lead. The sides went back-and-forth until GSU worked its way up to a 24-22 advantage. SDSU got out of the bind, however, with four straight to win the set 26-24. A pair of unforced Panther attack errors, a kill by Groves and a block from Groves and Burr sealed the set.

Set two: The Jacks raced out to a 9-3 lead in set two. A block by Martin and Burr put the Jacks up 15-7. The Panthers worked their way back within four at 18-14, then a kill apiece by Schetnan, Burr and Zgonc made it 21-14. A kill by Schetnan ended the second set, 25-19.

Set three: SDSU started the final set with a 4-1 advantage but GSU came back to lead 6-5. Wieber served three consecutive aces during a 5-0 run that pushed the Jacks back ahead, 11-7. Schetnan took part in back-to-back blocks that made it 15-11. Consecutive kills from Van Egdom made it 22-16, then Zgonc hammered the final three kills for the 25-17 victory.

Notes

• South Dakota State opens the season 2-0 for the first time since 2011. Should SDSU win its game Saturday, the Jacks would be 3-0 for the first time since 2010.
• Zgonc's 25 kills in a three-set match matches the SDSU program record. The feat has been accomplished "many times" according to the SDSU record book, but Zgonc is the first since 2016.

Saturday

South Dakota State volleyball moved to 3-0 on the season Saturday with a 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-14, 25-21) win over Indiana State in the final match of the Georgia State Invitational. 

The Jackrabbits hit .353 for the match, their best mark since the first week of September 2023, and start the season 3-0 for the first time since the 2010 campaign.

A trio of Jackrabbits paced the offense. Zgonc again led the squad, posting 18 kills on 25 swings for a .429 attack rate. Schetnan  added 10 kills at a .421 clip and Burr added eight kills on 10 errorless swings for an .800 percentage.

Martin tallied 35 assists, 11 digs and three aces, all team highs. Wieber added 10 digs.

Zgonc was named MVP of the Georgia State Invitational and was joined on the all-tournament team by Schetnan and Martin.

Curry Kendall and Emma Kaelin paced the Sycamores with 14 and 13 kills, respectively.

Set one: Early errors on both sides of the net led to a 7-7 tie in the opening set. The sides traded points until ISU led 17-15, then the Jacks put tougether a 6-1 run. Zgonc notched a pair of kills and Martin had two aces during the stretch. Zgonc tallied another kill to make it 24-21, then a Sycamore error ended the set for SDSU.

Set two: Richardson notched an ace for the 7-2 lead. With the Jacks up 9-4, Indiana State rattled off an 11-2 run to go up 15-11 and eventually led 19-13. Van Egdom put down back-to-back kills to come back with four but Indiana State controlled the rest of the set.

Set three: The Jacks bounced back with a commanding 11-2 start to the third set. Burr, Martin and Zgonc each had kills during a six-point run that made it 19-16. Zgonc also had three of the final four points in the 25-14 win.

Set four: Four different Jackrabbits had kills and Richardson notched an ace as the final set started with a 5-5 tie. Groves tallied a kill and Schlimgen an ace during a 4-0 run that made it 9-6. Indiana State came back to tie the game a few times over the remainder of the set but the Jacks did not give up the lead. Schetnan had three of the last five points for the Jackrabbits, including the match-winning kill.

Notes

South Dakota State starts the season 3-0 for the first time since starting 3-0 at the Air Force Tournament in 2010.