VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VSCUVIKINGS.COM) – Valley City State earned their first conference win Friday night as they upset (RV)Dakota State in a five-set match 21-25, 25-17, 25-22, 27-29, and 15-9.
Graichen Gym was filled with loud Viking fans as Valley City State celebrated Parent’s Night. About the athletes he’s recruited, head coach Adam Longmore states, “We have a deep roster and not all of them get to play. They’ve done a great job at supporting each other and that support stems from the home. We had a great crowd here tonight that really helped us in the long run.”
The first set started in the Trojans’ favor as they led by as much as eight points at 15-23. The Vikings looked to make a comeback as they made a 6-1 rally. Three of the six points came at the Trojans’ match point. A Kelsey Pearson kill gave the Trojans set one, 21-25.
Valley City State’s momentum built late in the first set continued into set two for the Vikings as they kept up with Dakota State to tie at seven. An Ellie Stafford kill gave the Vikings control as Morganne Eppard came up to serve seven in a row, including four service aces. Valley City State would never trail the rest of the way as they earned the win, 25-17.
The two NSAA teams battled in set three as neither team led by more than five points. The final tie came at 20, when a Caitlyn Fischbach kill gave the lead to Valley City State. It was a 5-2 run for the Vikings as they edged the Trojans 25-22.
The fourth set featured 19 ties as the Trojans fought to stay alive in the match. After a tie at 23, the teams traded errors to tie at 24 and traded kills to tie at 25.
An Eppard service error gave the Trojans a match-point opportunity but Viking freshman Bailey Nelson would secure a kill to bring the tie to 26. The two traded kills again to tie at 27 for the final time before Trojan kills by Samantha Zell and Barbara Briceno secured the Dakota State win 27-29.
Valley City State’s energy peaked heading into set five as they sought their first conference win. The Vikings held onto a large 8-point lead at 14-6 when the Trojans scored three straight points, prompting a Valley City State timeout. The Vikings came out strong as another Stafford kill secured the fifth set 15-9.
“I was just proud of my girls that we were able to play like that,” says Longmore. “One of the best ways to build confidence is to win. We played high-level volleyball and know we can play well and win against a good opponent.”
Valley City State improves to 5-14 overall and 1-7 in the NSAA. Dakota State drops to 13-8 overall and 6-2 in the NSAA.
Four Vikings tallied double-digit digs in the Friday night victory. Senior libero Charlotte Huschka led the way with 21, Kallene Klever tallied 19, Alexa Walby recorded 12 and Reagan added 11. Walby also added 24 assists for Valley City State and Ingstad contributed 20.
Katie Juarez led the Viking offense with 14 kills while Ellie Stafford and Caitlyn Fischbach each added nine. Morganne Eppard contributed an astonishing six service aces for the Vikings while Huschka added three.
Dakota State was led by Senior Barbara Briceno who recorded 18 kills, 21 digs, four blocks, and two service aces for the Trojans. Samantha Zell tallied 11 kills while Maddie Polzin and Hanna Jellema each added 10.
Nicole Sarringar recorded 26 assists while Rachel Johnson added 20 assists and 18 digs. Peyton Groft tallied a team-high 23 digs for Dakota State.
UP NEXT: Valley City State celebrates Senior Day when they host No. 15 Bellevue University on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 11 a.m. in Graichen Gym. All fans will receive free admission to the game.