The 1-1 South Dakota State volleyball team is hosting its first home games of the 2025 season as it welcomes Ole Miss and Wyoming to First Bank & Trust Arena.
Fresh off a split at the Northern Iowa tournament, which included the first win over a Big Ten team in program history over Illinois, the Jackrabbits now turn their focus to two early-season home non-conference opponents. It is the first time in three seasons the Jackrabbits have hosted a non-conference tournament.
“We haven’t had a non-conference tournament at home since 2022,” coach Dan Georgalas said during his weekly update. “That’s some adversity we’ve been dealing with for a couple of years, and now’s the time to capitalize.”
The team is scheduled to play its second game against a power conference opponent this season on Friday against the Rebels.
“It’s a great loss on paper to lose to UNI on their home court,” Georgalas said. “We didn’t perform to our standards, but now we get the opportunity to respond, grow, learn, have four days of home practices; you’re going to see a similar response from us this upcoming Friday.”
On the stat sheet, the Jackrabbits are led by junior outside hitter Sylvie Zgonc. Zgonc, the defending Summit League Player of the Year, has started her season with 33 kills, 23 digs and 36 points.
Freshman Hanna Klein is second on the team in kills with 17. The newcomer has also recorded three blocks in her first two matches.
Last year’s Summit League Freshman of the Year, Madison Burr, contributes on both sides of the net with 15 kills and nine blocks. Defensively, Sydni Schetnan leads the team with 10 blocks to go with her 12 kills.
Ole Miss Rebels (2-1, SEC)
The Rebels come to Brookings with a 2-1 record after participating in the Georgia Tech classic, losing to the host Yellow Jackets.
Junior outside hitter Gabi Placide leads the Rebels in kills with 51 and points with 57.5. She has also tallied 18 digs on the season.
Freshman Melia Johnson has made an immediate impact in her first three collegiate games. The freshman has tallied 35 kills and 37.5 points.
This will be the second time the two programs have met. Ole Miss won the first meeting 3-0 in Oxford, Miss., in 2023.
“They were an NCAA Tournament team who made the second round, the round of 32 last year,” Georgalas said. “Illinois and UNI were both NCAA Tournament teams. So we’re opening our season with three NCAA Tournament teams in a row.”
Wyoming Cowgirls (2-1, Mountain West)
The Cowgirls are 2-1 on the season and will be on the road for the first time this season when they head to Brookings.
The two programs have ties, with Georgalas being a former assistant coach in Laramie and SDSU’s associate head coach Courtney Chacon being a member of the Wyoming volleyball team from 2013-16.
The team has a tie at the top of its kill leaderboard with senior Sarah Holcomb and junior Paige Lauterwasser, who both have 34. Holcomb leads the team in points with 42, followed by Lauterwasser with 37.5. Holcomb also leads the team with 10 blocks.
The Cowgirls also have another scoring threat with outside hitter Addy Thorington, racking up 24 points on 23 kills.
Wyoming will look to keep its undefeated streak against the Jackrabbits alive on Sunday. The Cowgirls will go into the match 3-0 when facing SDSU, with their most recent win coming in 2023 when they won 3-1.
