The South Dakota State Jackrabbits’ volleyball team defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini in a four-set match today in the first game of the Northern Iowa Tournament. The Jackrabbits are now 1-0 on the season and will look to continue their start tomorrow at 5 p.m. against the University of Northern Iowa.
Junior outside hitter Sylvie Zgonc was the Jackrabbit leader in kills with 18, along with eight digs.
Hannah Klein was another standout player for the Jackrabbits. The true freshman outside hitter recorded 13 kills and two blocks in her college debut.
Madison Burr rounded out the Jackrabbit trio of players with double-digit kills with 12 of her own, along with three blocks.
Sydni Schetnan recorded eight kills and seven blocks with a team-high hitting percentage of 44.4%.
Setter Rylee Martin recorded 41 assists and three kills.
Illinois also had three players with double-digit kills. Taylor De Boer recorded 15 kills, followed by Texas transfer Auburn Tomkinson’s 10 kills. Freshman Alyssa Aguayo made her collegiate debut and recorded 10 kills and one block in the four-set loss.
SDSU started set one with a quick 2-0 burst after a Sydni Schetnan block and a Madison Burr kill. Illinois came back strong after a 3-0 run of their own to take a one-point lead. The teams traded points until an Illinois ace gave the Fighting Illini their biggest lead of the match at 18-15.
SDSU came back to lead 19-18 after a 4-0 run and two straight points by Burr.
A Burr kill followed by a Burr ace gave the Jacks a 24-23 lead before freshman Hannah Klein came in with a set-clinching kill to give the Jacks a 25-23 win. Burr, Schetnan and Zgonc led the way in the first set, tallying four kills apiece.
Set two started close after a kill by Zgonc tied the set 4-4. The Jacks pulled away to an 8-4 lead. Another SDSU run pushed the lead to 15-9 with a Zgonc kill. Illinois refused to quit as they went on a 6-1 run to cut the lead to 16-15. SDSU held a 23-21 lead before a Zgonc kill and an Illinois error gave SDSU the 25-22 set win and a 2-0 match lead. Zgonc and Burr both added four more kills to their total on the day in set two.
The third set was all about runs and momentum. SDSU had the momentum early and rode it to a 10-0 lead before Illinois tightened the gap to 10-4. But after an Illinois error and two Jackrabbit kills, SDSU pulled back to a 13-4 lead. Illinois then turned up the heat and tied the set at 13-13. The game went back and forth and was tied at 22-22 before Illinois pulled away to a 25-23 win to force a fourth set.
Illinois kept the momentum early in the fourth set, taking an early 7-4 lead over SDSU. But after an SDSU run, which was capped off by a Schetnan block, the Jacks evened the score 9-9. A Zgonc kill made the score 14-13, which jump-started the SDSU offense. SDSU jumped out to a 20-14 lead after a Zgonc ace and two Klein kills in a row. The Jackrabbits held a 23-19 lead before back-to-back Zgonc kills gave the Jackrabbits a 25-19 set win and a 3-1 match win over the Fighting Illini.
