VALLEY CITY, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – The Valley City State volleyball team dropped a close conference match to Presentation College Friday night in three sets, 25-23, 25-18, 28-26.
The Vikings outhit the Saints Friday, tallying 41 kills to Presentation’s 33 kills, but it wasn’t enough to come out on top. The Saints also tallied eight service aces in the match.
Valley City State falls to 4-17 overall and 3-9 in the NSAA. Presentation improves to 6-14 overall and 3-8 in the conference.
Katie Juarez and Bailey Nelson each tallied a team-high 11 kills Friday while Juarez added 17 digs and Nelson recorded five blocks. Macey Kvilvang added six kills and five blocks for the Vikings.
Maara Nelson finished with 18 digs while Dani Schwanke added 16 digs Friday. Jakenda Short tallied 20 set assists and Kallene Klever added 14 assists for VCSU.
The Saints led by as much as seven points in the first set to bring up set point at 24-17. A kill from Bailey Nelson kicked off a six-point Viking rally to trail 24-23 but a final kill from Presentation’s Saige Jones finished the set in favor of the Saints. Presentation kept its momentum into the second set, finishing with a 25-18 victory.
The Saints took an early 13-6 lead in the third set when a kill from Katie Juarez sparked a six-point Viking rally to get within a point. With Presentation holding a 22-19 advantage, VCSU took five straight points, capped by a block from Bailey Nelson and Macey Kvilvang, to bring up a Viking set point at 24-22.
A Presentation kill and service ace tied the game at 24-all. The teams traded points until a kill from Presentation’s Morgan Moelter put the Saints ahead and a Viking attack error gave the Saints the set 28-26, and match 3-0.
Presentation’s Constence Rollins finished with a game-high 14 kills and added five blocks Friday. Sydney Miller totaled 13 set assists while Rebecca Allen recorded 11 assists.
Laura Babcock tallied a game-high 25 digs and Kenzie Kuxhaus contributed 15 digs for the Saints.
UP NEXT: Valley City State travels to Dickinson State on Tuesday, March 23. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. MT. Presentation travels to Dickinson State on Saturday afternoon.