The South Dakota State Volleyball team is continuing their away game stretch this weekend as they head to Iowa to compete in the Fryfest Invitational over the weekend..
The Jacks are preparing for their second full weekend of non-conference play on the road. They will face off against the Kent State Golden Eagles on Friday at 3:00 p.m. before taking on the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. To wrap up the tournament, the Jackrabbits will play the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
Kent State is coming off a rough opening weekend participating in the Bulldog Brawl tournament in Indianapolis, IN. The Golden Eagles went 0-3 competing against Butler, University of California San Diego, and Fresno State. Returning key players for the Golden Eagles are Mackenzie McGuire and Bryn Roberts. McGuire made the All-Freshman Team last season and Roberts is the only four-year member.
Middle Tennessee went 0-2 on Aug. 25 and 26 at the Big Orange Bash in Clemson, South Carolina. The Blue Raiders fell short to Clemson on Friday and lost Saturday to Wofford. Standout athlete Laure Jansen received All-Tournament team selection after recording two double-doubles.
The South Dakota State Volleyball team will conclude the Invitational with a matchup versus Iowa. The Hawkeyes kicked off their season going 1-2 last weekend at the Sacramento State Invitational, defeating Cal Poly but dropping a pair to Sacramento State and Nevada. Iowa brought in several new components to advance their team, but lost a star player Amaya Jones who led her team in kills during the 2022 season.
South Dakota State went 1-2 the previous weekend in Wyoming at the Rumble of the Rockies tournament to start the season. The Jacks suffered a tough loss in game one against the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Sophomore Jackrabbit Katie Van Egdom totaled 11 kills paired with setter Raegen Reilly’s 18 assists while freshman Sylvie Zgonc added 14 digs. Although a well fought match, the Jacks dropped their first game of the season in three sets.
In game two, the Jackrabbits responded strongly against the Winthrop Eagles. Van Egdom recorded a career high 17 kills along with Stella Winterfield’s 15 digs which were both team highs. Freshman Brogen Beck added 10 blocks to an already solid statline for the Jackrabbits. Their performances contributed to an exciting 3-1 victory to split day one.
“It all just started clicking in the third set,” said sophomore outside hitter Masa Scheireman. “The trust and unity really showed.”
On Saturday, the Jackrabbits came back looking to round out the tournament with another win over the Wyoming Cowgirls, but unfortunately fell short.
Reilly led the team with 23 assists while Winterfield had 13 digs. Van Egdom and Zgonc combined for 26 of their team’s 47 kills. Despite their valiant efforts, the Jacks weren’t able to overcome the Cowgirls, dropping the match 1-3.
“If we continue to grow match to match and weekend to weekend the same way we did opponents one through three, we’re going to have a great year,” said coach Dan Georgalas.
In spite of a challenging beginning to the 2023 season, the Jackrabbits experienced some positive takeaways and growth opportunities to build upon throughout the year. Van Egdom landed a position on the All-Tournament team, putting up an incredible individual performance for the return of her second season. While some players are recovering from injuries, several freshmen stepped up to the plate and played valuable minutes for the Jacks, gaining exposure to collegiate level play in the process.
“This is only going to make our team stronger,” said Reilly, about facing adversity. “Making people uncomfortable in different positions, but ultimately better for the team having experience at different positions.”
