The South Dakota State volleyball team will open up their season by heading down to Georgia to compete in the Georgia State Invitational.
The Jacks look onto new players as star Raegen Reilly hit the transfer portal after last season to join the University of Illinois, her third college in three years.
Last season, Reilly led the Jacks in assists with 642 on the season. Rylee Martin finished second in the same category with 395.
Seven of the athletes on the 2024 SDSU volleyball team are freshmen or sophomores.
While the team may seem new, familiar faces such as Katie Van Egdom, Sydni Schetnan and Sylvie Zgonc will make their return for the Jacks.
South Dakota State brought in Taylor Byl, a Sioux Falls native to join their squad. In her time at Sioux Falls Christian, Byl and the Knight went on and three straight State Volleyball titles in three of her last four years.
Last season, the Jackrabbits finished with a 9-20 (7-9 in Summit League) record with five of their last nine wins coming in 30 days.
“Last season didn’t go the way we wanted it to and the returners that we have from last season who were here, they have a chip on their shoulder,” said Dan Georgalas, head coach of volleyball at South Dakota State. “They’ve been a great group all summer. We feel 20 -30 days ahead in our practice and our level of play right now. This team more than any other is excited to prove something.”
In the 2023 season, Van Egdom led the Jacks with 108 sets played while Zgonc led the team in points with 413 and kills with 374.
South Dakota State also lost assistant coach Allison Mayfield in the offseason but brought in Cole Aiazzi, a coach with seven seasons of Division 1 experience.
Also joining the staff of Georgalas is Karly Berkland, a graduate of the University of Connecticut.
During her time as a Husky, Berkland excelled on defense where she tallied up the fifth most digs in program history. The Iowa Native spent two seasons with the University of Houston before joining up with UCONN.
The Jacks will play their first official game of the season against Florida A&M on Friday morning, a team that finished 18-14 overall last season.
“There is a lot of momentum, we’re excited for this next season and to kick it off this weekend,” said Georgalas. “The gym is just really competitive right now.”
After playing FAMU, the Jacks will compete against Georgia State on Friday night before finishing the tournament against Indiana State on Saturday.
