Coyote Volleyball Team Falls in 5-Set Heartbreaker at North Dakota
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of South Dakota volleyball team gave Great West Conference regular-season champion North Dakota all it could handle Saturday before the Sioux prevailed in a five-set marathon, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 15-5 in Grand Forks, N.D.

North Dakota (20-6, 11-1 GWC) was led by 24 kills from Annika Smed.

The Coyotes (12-16, 6-6 GWC) received 24 kills from Kristen Kritenbrink (Jr., Gretna, Neb.). Bailey Reshel (Fr., Hortonville, Wis.) added 13 kills, while Kim Bulaga (Fr., Crystal Lake, Ill.) collected 12. Gina Baldwin (Sr., Mitchell, S.D.) added 48 set assists for USD.

USD, which lost to North Dakota in a sweep earlier this season, showed from the start that this match was going to be much more competitive.

The first set was a good example: the biggest lead for either team was three points, and the match was tied 16 times.

The score was tied at 23-23 when Reshel put down a kill to put USD up 24-23. The Coyotes won the set after North Dakota’s Britta Hanson had a hitting error.

Kritenbrink had five kills in the opening game alone.

In the second set, USD took an early 3-0 lead, thanks to kills from Kritenbrink, Jenna Hatfield (Sr., Norfolk, Neb.) and Bulaga.

That lead didn’t last, however, and the set turned into a dogfight as the score was tied nine times.

USD held a 15-14 lead after a Bulaga kill, but North Dakota went on a 4-0 run to take an 18-15 lead. The Coyotes closed within 18-17 after a Kritenbrink kill, but North Dakota pulled away late to record a 25-20 win.

In the second set, UND jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and held that advantage for much of the way. However, the Coyotes fought back from a 15-8 deficit to tie the set at 19-19, thanks to an 11-4 run. During that run, Kritenbrink had three kills while Bulaga had two.

North Dakota pushed the lead to 23-21 after Smed put down a kill, and while USD cut the gap to 24-23 on a Bulaga kill, the Sioux held on to record a 25-23 third-set win.

The Coyotes fought back in the third set. The score was tied at 12-12 before USD went on a 4-1 spurt to take at 16-13 lead. Reshel and Kritenbrink had kills for USD, while Hatfield and Kritenbrink teamed up for a block.

USD never relinquished the lead, although North Dakota cut the gap to 20-19. But the Coyotes thwarted the rally with three straight points as Bulaga had a kill and a service ace, while Steph Kroeze (Fr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) added a kill. USD closed strong to record a 25-22 win.

That set up a decisive fifth set. Unfortunately for USD, North Dakota grabbed the momentum early, opening on a 9-2 run, and the Coyotes never got closer as the Sioux rolled to a 15-5 win.

Baldwin led USD with 22 digs, while Bulaga and Mallory Mork (Fr., Sac City, Iowa) added 16 each. Bulaga had two service aces. Hatfield, Baldwin, Kritenbrink and Taylor Russell (Fr., Council Bluffs, Iowa) added two block assists each.

The loss ended the regular season for the Coyotes, who now turn their attention to the Great West Conference Championship, which begins Friday in Houston, Texas. USD will be the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5-seed Texas-Pan American in the opening round, with the match start time to be determined.
*Courtesy: USD Sports Information

No. 13 Mustangs Conclude Regular Season with Sweep of Northern State
ABERDEEN, S.D. - No. 13 Southwest Minnesota State got a match-high 16 kills from Devin Diedrich and a match-high 44 assists from Cara Carson to roll to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-19) conference victory over Northern State Saturday afternoon in Aberdeen, S.D., in both teams' regular season finales.

SMSU improves to 25-7 (15-5 NSIC), while NSU falls to 12-17 (7-13 NSIC). The win was SMSU's seventh straight, and all of those victories have been sweeps.

Diedrich was part one of a three-way offensive attack from the Mustangs; Mary Groth also finished with 11 kills, while Tory Brouwer had 10.

Carson put together a double-double in the match, adding 16 digs to her 44-assist outing. SMSU had five defenders in double-figure digs.

SMSU went to work immediately, putting together a 13-4 run early that was capped by Groth kill to give the Mustangs a 16-5 lead. Brooke Burmeister killed two balls to give her squad points 24 and 25 and close the set.

The Wolves played the Mustangs to a 22-22 tie in the second set before SMSU scored three of the set's final four points to edge out a 25-23 victory.

The Mustangs were too much for the Wolves down the stretch as they broke away from a 4-4 tie to post a six-point set victory and take the match.

SMSU didn't allow a single Wolf hitter to reach double-figure kills.

Jordan Schaffer's eight kills and Stephanie Drake's 16 digs led NSU.

SMSU will now wait to be seeded in the upcoming Central Region Tournament; that announcement will be made on Sunday. The Mustangs were No. 3 in the latest region rankings released earlier this week.
*Courtesy: SMSU Sports Information

Rabbits roll Ladies in ’09 finale
SHREVEPORT, La. – The 2009 season came to an end for the South Dakota State volleyball team on Saturday, but the Jackrabbits went out winning, as they downed Summit League cellar dweller Centenary 3-0.

The win gives the Jackrabbits an overall record of 10-17 for the second straight season and at 9-9 in Summit League play, a .500 record in league play for the second straight season. Centenary falls to 4-25 overall, 0-17 in league play, with a match against Oral Roberts still on the schedule.

Fiona Jones led all players in the match with 11 kills, Kaitlin Klingemann added nine kills with no errors in 19 swings for an impressive .474 hitting percentage.

The Jacks hit .304 for the match and held Centenary to a .126 hitting percentage.

SDSU cruised to 25-14 and 25-10 win in the first and second sets, and then held off a Centenary rally in the third set to win 25-23.
*Courtesy: SDSU Sports Information

Northwestern Claims GPAC Volleyball Tournament Championship
(Sioux City, Iowa) – Top seeded Northwestern defeated three seed Doane 3-0 on Saturday night in the championship match of the 2009 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Postseason Volleyball Tournament. The game scores in Orange City, Iowa, were 25-23, 26-24, and 25-22. With the win the Red Raiders are now 33-2 on the season.

Both teams have garnered berths into the NAIA National Volleyball Tournament. The GPAC receives two automatic berths because the conference has 12 NAIA volleyball teams. Northwestern secured the regular season berth by winning the conference championship.

The NAIA National Volleyball Tournament will begin on Saturday, November 21, with opening round matches at 12 campus sites across the country. The NAIA Opening Round Pairings will be announced on Sunday, November 15. The top 11 teams in the country (including Northwestern) and Morningside College (as local host) will automatically advance to the final field of 24 in Sioux City, Iowa, at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena December 1-5, 2009. The final 12 spots will be filled by the winners of the opening round matches.

2009 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Volleyball Tournament
GPAC Volleyball First Round – Wednesday, November 4
Match #1 - #8 Sioux Falls 3, #9 Midland Lutheran 2 (22-25, 30-28, 25-11, 19-25, 15-9)
Match #2 - #5 Dordt 3, #12 Mount Marty 0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-21)
Match #3 - #7 Dana 3, #10 Concordia 1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21)
Match #4 - #6 Briar Cliff 3, #11 Dakota Wesleyan 1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15)

GPAC Volleyball Quarterfinals - Saturday, November 7
Match #5 - #1 Northwestern 3, #8 Sioux Falls 0 (25-21, 25-20, 26-24)
Match #6 - #5 Dordt 3, #4 Hastings 1 (26-24, 28-26, 18-25, 25-14)
Match #7 - #2 Morningside 3, #7 Dana (25-10, 25-5, 25-11)
Match #8 - #3 Doane 3, #6 Briar Cliff 0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-16)

GPAC Volleyball Semifinals – Wednesday, November 11
Match #9 - #1 Northwestern 3, #5 Dordt 1 (25-22, 21-25, 29-27, 25-18)
Match #10 - #3 Doane 3, #2 Morningside 1 (25-21, 25-15, 23-25, 25-15)

GPAC Volleyball Championship - Saturday, November 14
Match #11 - #1 Northwestern 3, #3 Doane 0 (25-23, 26-24 25-22)
*Courtesy: GPAC

Augustana Volleyball Downs Minnesota, Crookston
(Crookston, MN) After a close first set, the Augustana Vikings rebounded to sweep Minnesota, Crookston Saturday night. Augie eeked out a 26-24 win before finishing the match 25-15 and 25-18.

The Viking now improve to 14-18 overall this season and 9-11 in conference play. The Golden Eagles fall to 6-26 and 3-17 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The first set was close throughout, with the teams trading points and leads. A kill by junior outside Beth Talcott gave the Vikings the 18-17 advantage, but the Golden Eagles scored five unanswered points to take a 22-18 lead. A service error by Minnesota, Crookston followed by a kill by the Golden Eagles moved the score to 23-19 and forced the Vikings to take a timeout. Augie pounded four kills in a row and then forced a Golden Eagle hitting error to take a 24-23 lead. The Golden Eagles tied the score again will a kill by Amanda Swann, but a kill from junior middle Brianna Erickson followed by a kill by senior right side Ellen Andrews ended the set.

The Vikings got off to a fast start in set two, outscoring the Golden Eagles 11-4 thanks to serving runs by Erickson and freshman setter Breanna Brandt. Minnesota, Crookston committed 10 hitting errors while only recording nine kills in the second set, making a comeback difficult. Augie pounded 13 kills to sail to the 25-15 victory.

Set four remained close until Talcott served four straight points to take a 15-8 lead. The Golden Eagles pulled to within three at 18-15 before senior outside Jenna Hultgren served three straight points to give Augie the 21-15 lead. Minnesota, Crookston called a timeout but was unable to answer the Viking attack and would only score three more points in the set.

Andrews led the team with 10 kills and Talcott and freshman right Jordan Spatenka contributed nine each.

Freshman Dani Haley had 24 assists and freshman libero Grace Sanders collected a match-high 17 digs.

The match concludes the 2009 season for the Vikings.
*Courtesy: Augustana Sports Information