Krista Tschetter

The South Dakota State University volleyball team is proving itself a force to be reckoned with after two weeks of undefeated NCC tournament play.

With a record of 9-0, the Jacks have taken top honors at the Minnesota State Tournament in Mankato and the Burger King Classic in Brookings Sept. 6-7.

They also beat Pittsburgh State in four in their first scheduled home match Sept. 5.

SDSU opened the first day of MSU tournament play with a pair of three-game sweeps over Bemidji State and Montana State-Billings. The second day of tournament play tallied two more wins for the Jacks over Harding (Ark.) and Northwest Nazarene and earned them the tournament title.

Later that week, the Jacks upped their wins to five with a win over Pittsburg State.

The most recent Burger King Classic opened with another pair of three-game sweeps over Jamestown College and Northern State University.

In the opener Saturday, the Jacks hit .430. They held Jamestown to a .000 percentage while winning 30-7, 30-15, 30-12.

Senior Liz Archer tallied nine digs, while Joanne Heiden and Kelly Hoemann each had three blocks.

Kelly Hoemann, Annie Ebnet and Joan Ebnet led kills in the match with 8 apiece.

In the night match, the Jackrabbits hit .218, taking Northern out 30-13, 30-22, 30-22. Kim Bostrom and Wendy O’Neill led SDSU with eight kills apiece, while Angie Rime had 39 set assists and nine digs. Annie Ebnet and Archer led in digs with 12 and 10 respectively.

Ending first day play with a 7-0 season record, the Jacks came back strong on day two with sweeps over Minnesota Crookston and St. Edward.

In game one vs. Minnesota Crookston, Annie Ebnet and Archer led defensively with 13 and 10 kills. Rime had 39 set assists and 7 digs, while Freshman Rhonda Bitker followed with four digs.

The Jacks hit .337 and overtook Jamestown with game scores of 30-21, 30-13, 30-19.

In the final SDSU match gainst St. Edward, the team played a powerful defensive game, tallying 84 digs and 16 blocks. Archer led the Jacks with an impressive 25 digs. Rime followed with 16 and also had 42 set assists.

The team closed the match with scores of 30-24, 30-28, 30-20 and a .228 hitting percentage.

“We had a good tournament,” said Andrew Palileo, head women’s volleyball coach.

“A lot of players had opportunities to contribute.”

Several Jacks were honored individually as well. Rime was named tournament Most Valuable Player, while Hoemann and Archer were named to the All-tournament team.

“Overall it was a good tournament for everyone,” Palileo said.

The SDSU women’s volleyball team will play next at the NCC/NSIC Crossover Classic in Omaha, Neb., Sept. 13-14.