Zgonc’s 21 kills lead Jackrabbits past Coyotes

Cordell Vitense, Sports Editor

October 18, 2025

South Dakota State outside hitter Sylvie Zgonc (10) waits for the serve during an NCAA college volleyball game against North Dakota State at First Bank & Trust Arena in Brookings on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.

The South Dakota State volleyball team remained undefeated in conference play Saturday after beating South Dakota 3-1.

South Dakota State improved to 13-3 overall and 7-0 in conference play, while the Coyotes fell to 12-7 and 4-3.

After a quiet nine-point performance against North Dakota State, Sylvie Zgonc responded with 21 points, all on kills. Zgonc also secured a double-double, adding 11 digs.

Hannah Klein had 17.5 points, recording 12 kills, three service aces and three total blocks.

Zgonc was not the only Jackrabbit to record a double-double. Setter Rylee Martin had 46 assists and 10 digs. The junior also added 5.5 points.

For the Coyotes, sophomore Lauren Medeck led in scoring with 15 points on 14 kills.

Junior middle blocker Amanda Loschen was the only other player in double digits for South Dakota. Loschen finished with 13.5 points on 11 kills.

In the first set, the two teams traded points to a 13-13 tie. The Coyotes started to pull away after a 3-0 run, but a block by Syndi Schetnan and Annalee Ventling-Brown gave South Dakota State a 19-18 lead. The Jackrabbits would not hold the lead for long and were tied at 22-22. A 3-0 run capped by a Morgan Bode kill gave South Dakota a 25-22 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second set started tied 4-4 before SDSU built a 9-5 lead. A Madison Burr kill pushed the lead to 16-10 for SDSU later in the set. South Dakota could not overcome the deficit, and a Zgonc kill gave the Jackrabbits a 25-19 win to tie the match at 1-1.

South Dakota pulled out to an early 6-3 lead in the third set before a Schetnan block tied it at 9-9. A 5-1 Jackrabbit run gave SDSU a 14-10 lead. SDSU never gave the lead back and won the third set 25-18 to take a 2-1 lead.

In a must-win set for the Coyotes, South Dakota grabbed an early 5-3 lead but could not pull away, with the set repeatedly tied up to 13-13. After a Burr kill followed by three consecutive Klein kills and a South Dakota error, SDSU found itself up 18-13. The gap was too much for the Coyotes to overcome, with a Schetnan and Ventling-Brown block giving SDSU a 25-19 set win and a 3-1 match victory.

South Dakota State will travel to Grand Forks to face the University of North Dakota at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21.