As a competitor, Raegen Reilly assists the Jackrabbits volleyball team on campus and off the court.
Reilly, a junior setter on the South Dakota State volleyball team, has been a key player for the Jacks continuing into her second year. Reilly is native to Sioux Falls but committed to North Dakota State University out of high school.
Following her freshman year, Reilly entered the transfer portal and returned to South Dakota to compete as a Jackrabbit.
“I just didn’t feel like I was at the right place, and it didn’t really feel like the best fit for me,” Reilly said on her transfer from Fargo. “I wanted to come closer to home and if I had the opportunity, I think that would be what was best for me.”
South Dakota State appealed to Reilly for several reasons. She appreciated the path the coaches were creating for the program, the culture they brought and the passion SDSU provides to their athletic and academic community.
“I was really happy to represent the state that I’m from in an athletic standpoint,” Reilly said.
Reilly was fortunate enough to find an immediate match and was welcomed by teammates, coaches, and professors as a new asset for the Jackrabbits.
“Being a transfer from in-conference and a rival school, I didn’t really know how that would go,” Reilly said. “But there were no issues at all. I just felt like I fit in right away and gelled with the team.”
Reilly surpassed the team’s single season assist record last year with 1,307 assists, becoming the leader her first year at SDSU. She averaged 9.98 assists per set, tallied 25 assists in all but one match during the 2022 season and ranked second on the team compiling 27 aces. In the future, Reilly wants to remain focused on team goals rather than individual accomplishments.
“For me, it’s just about continuing to get [SDSU] into a contending program,” Reilly said. “I want to make an impact, so that I can leave this program better than when I came into it.”
The role of setter is not an easy one to play, but Reilly rises to the occasion and delivers.
“She puts the ball where I need it every single time,” Katie Van Egdom, sophomore outside hitter, said. “We both have this mutual trust with each other, where I know that she’s going to deliver the ball that I need, and she has faith in me to put the ball away.”
Regardless of those prosperous moments, being a key component to the offense definitely proves to be a challenge as well.
“Being a setter, you have to be very mentally tough,” Reilly said. “You have to know that you’re not always going to get recognition. It’s a huge role, but that’s what I signed up for and I want to make decisions of where I want the ball to go.”
Reilly comes from a victorious background of a winning high school program at Sioux Falls O’Gorman. She’s a three-time all-conference and all-state honors recipient, Class AA South Dakota Miss Volleyball and owns many more accolades.
“When you have someone like [Raegen] at the setting position, it’s like the quarterback of the volleyball team,” said Dan Georgalas, head coach for the SDSU volleyball team.
In the setting position, Reilly is often looked to as a leader on the court in both low and high times.
“I think she’s a really good leader by example,” Georgalas said. “She’s a very competitive person who’s super sweet and a great student. I feel like she’s a really hard worker and just tries to show people how to do that.”
The Jackrabbits are 7-16 overall, 5-6 in the Summit League. They own a three-game win streak heading into Thursday’s match at North Dakota State.
With the loss of several veteranplayers and the additional abundance of new teammates, the Jacks have had to make numerous adjustments throughout the season. Reilly has adapted to those changes and been moved to other positions on the court as well.
“I’m doing what the team needs me to do,” Reilly said. “It’s fun to do different things and I get to see the court differently. It helps me give people a little more grace too.”
Luckily, Reilly has previous experience from her high school years to draw from when she wasn’t always a setter. In junior high, she played primarily the middle hitter role and advanced to outside hitter during her freshman year. Eventually, Reilly slipped into the role of setter, alongside her sister, Bergen, running a 6-2 offense the rest of her high school career.
Reilly strives to be, above all else, a good teammate. She aims to encourage those around her to be their best and be a positive leader on the court.
“We all have different personalities on the court, but she’s the one who brings the fire when we need it,” Van Egdom said. “But when we’re in a little rut, she knows what to say. She knows how to calm everybody down and get the best out of us, which is what a great teammate is.”
