Vikings Volleyball over Dickinson St., Wed.

DICKINSON, N.D.  (VCSU) – The Valley City State volleyball team opened conference play with a five-set win over Dickinson State Wednesday night, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 20-25 and 15-12.

Three Vikings finished with double-figure kills Wednesday, led by Katie Juarez who tallied 17 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Caitlyn Fischbach finished with 12 kills and Bailey Nelson chipped in 10 kills for VCSU. Makayla Wetzel added seven kills on a .375 hitting percentage Wednesday.

Freshman setter Sadie Hansen finished with a new career-high 47 set assists and totaled 13 digs and four kills. Kallene Klever tallied a team-high 16 digs for the Vikings.

Valley City State starts conference play with a 1-0 NSAA record and improves to a 3-9 record overall. Dickinson State drops to 0-14 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

The Vikings held an early lead in the first set but the Blue Hawks scored four straight points midway through the first set to take over a 16-14 advantage. Dickinson State never looked back as they finished the set with four of the final five points to take the 25-21 victory.

Valley City State never trailed in the second set as they opened with an 11-6 lead on a block from Makayla Wetzel. The Vikings led by as much as six points on a Juarez kill to make it 22-16 in favor of the Vikings. The Blue Hawks inched closer but a block by Juarez put the set away 25-21.

The Vikings trailed 13-14 early in the third set when a Bailey Nelson kill sparked a 7-1 run to propel the Vikings to a 25-20 victory. Then in the fourth set, Dickinson State put together its best performance of the night with 19 kills and just two errors to take the 25-20 win and force a fifth set.

VCSU held the advantage the whole way through the fifth set, putting together a .455 hitting percentage. A Sadie Hansen block put the Vikings ahead 10-6 and a block from Brooke Blessum later finished the match as the Vikings took the set, 15-12.

Dickinson State’s Baylie Dashner tallied 20 kills Wednesday while Mackenna Johnson added 19 kills and Cassidy Larson finished with 10. Bailey Pearcy totaled 63 set assists for the Blue Hawks.

UP NEXT: Valley City State travels to No. 2 University of Jamestown on Friday, Sept. 17. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.