The Jackrabbits against the Omaha Mavericks were in a tight battle that came down to the fifth set, with SDSU coming out with a 3-2 win.
The Jacks now move to 7-3 on the season and 1-0 in conference play, while the Mavericks fall to 3-7 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
SDSU took the first set in a close-fought battle, winning 25-23. Omaha tied the match up 1-1 by winning the second set 25-23 and followed it up by winning the third set 25-22. Down 2-1 with their back against the wall, SDSU responded in the fourth set, winning 25-20 to force a fifth game. In the fifth and final set, the Jackrabbits came out on top 15-12 to get the 3-2 win.
Some standouts for the Mavericks against SDSU included Faith Venable, who led the way with 25.5 points on 25 kills and one block assist.
Kali Jurgensmeier also had a great night, scoring 23 total points. The senior outside hitter tallied 20 kills, two block assists and two service aces.
“Omaha’s absolutely fantastic,” said head coach Dan Georgalas. “They scored relentlessly through two players and to beat a good team that we know is always in the top three in our conference and a recent champion in our league. That’s great for our confidence, that’s great for our momentum.”
On Thursday SDSU will travel to Denver to play the Denver Pioneers at 7 p.m.
Junior Sylvie Zgonc leads the Jacks in scoring with 168 points. Zgonc has been a double-double machine to start the season, stacking up 155 kills and 110 digs on the year.
Middle Blocker Madison Burr has started her sophomore season out strong with 86 kills and 52 blocks to give her 123 points.
Freshman Hannah Klein is third in scoring for SDSU. Klein is coming off a breakout game against the Mavericks, where she had 19.5 points with 17 kills, which led the Jackrabbits in both categories. On the season, Klein has a total of 91 kills and 102 total points.
Fifth-year senior Annalee Ventling-Brown has been a key factor for the Jacks all season. Venlting-Brown has contributed on both sides of the ball this season with 49 kills and 29 blocks with a total of 64 points on the season.
Denver
On Thursday SDSU will travel to Denver to play the Denver Pioneers at 7 p.m.
The pioneers have gotten off to a good start in the 2025 season. Denver sits at 10-3 overall with a 2-0 conference record.
The Pioneers’ two conference wins came against Oral Roberts, whom they beat 3-0 and Kansas City, whom they beat 3-1.
The leading scorer for Denver is six-foot-six senior opposite hitter Genevieve Lewis. Lewis has tallied 151 points on the season with 138 kills and 21 blocks on the season.
Second leading scorer Ava Reynolds has also had a good start to her Senior season as she has racked up 149.5 points with 134 kills.
Sophomore Jamia Johnson is another scoring threat for the Pioneers. Johnson has 128.5 points on the season. Johnson is third on the team, not only scoring but also in kills with 113.
Oral Roberts
After SDSU travels to Denver on Thursday, they will head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to take on Oral Roberts on Saturday, September 4, at noon.
Oral Roberts hasn’t had the start to the season they were looking for as they find themselves 2-12 with an 0-2 conference record.
Those two conference losses came to Denver and USD, with both of them being 3-0 sweeps.
Sophomore Hope Hickman leads the Golden Eagles in scoring with 114 points coming on 108 kills.
Freshman from Sneek, Netherlands, Suze Zijlstra is second on the team in scoring with 102.5 points with 89 kills.
SDSU will return home on Thursday, Oct. 9 to face Kansas City.
