Valley City State volleyball swept the eighth installment of the North Star Athletic Association Player of the Week awards, the conference office announced Monday. Bailey Nelson was chosen as the Attacker of the Week, Sadie Hansen was named the Setter of the Week and Katie Juarez was selected as the Defender of the Week.

NSAA Volleyball Attacker of the Week
Bailey Nelson – Valley City State (N.D.) – 6’0″, Junior, middle blocker – Argusville, N.D. – Nelson paced Valley City State’s (N.D.) offensive attack with an impressive 4.7 kills per set as they went 2-0 record at home for the week. She smashed 16 kills (5.3 kills per set) and hit .448 in 3-0 sweep over Mayville State (N.D.). She followed up with 12 kills (4.0 kills per set) and hit .367 in a 3-0 victory over Presentation (S.D.). For the week, Nelson accumulated 28 kills and hit .407 by committing just four attack errors in 59 swings. She also had seven digs and a block.

NSAA Volleyball Setter of the Week
Sadie Hansen – Valley City State (N.D.) – 5’9″, Freshman, setter – Oakes, N.D. – Hansen contributed a total of 84 set assists and 16 digs in fueling Valley City State (N.D.) to a 2-0 record at home for the week. She produced 45 set assists (15.0 assists per set) and posted a double-double with 10 digs in 3-0 victory over Mayville State (N.D.). She added 39 assists (13.0 assists per set) and six digs in 3-0 win over Presentation (S.D.). For the week, Hansen averaged 14.0 set assists and 2.7 digs per set. She also had eight kills, a service ace and two blocks.

NSAA Volleyball Defender of the Week
Katie Juarez – Valley City State (N.D.) – 5’9″, Senior, outside hitter – Angels Camp, Calif. – Juarez averaged 21 digs per match and 7.0 digs per set as she led Valley City State (N.D.) to a pair of 3-0 North Star Athletic Association home sweeps. She tallied 22 digs (7.3 digs per set) and seven kills versus Mayville State (N.D.) and followed up with 20 digs (6.7 digs per set) and 12 kills versus Presentation (S.D.). For the week, Juarez tallied 42 digs, 19 kills (3.2 kills per set) and registered four service aces.

Recap from last week’s action
The first half portion of the North Star Athletic Association schedule had concluded last weekend.  No. 2-ranked Viterbo (Wis.) extended their winning streak to 18 matches after going 2-0 record for the weekend. The V-Hawks defeated Dakota State (S.D.) in four sets on Oct. 7, followed by a 3-1 road victory at No. 8 Bellevue (Neb.) in the battle of top two teams in the league. Viterbo raised their overall record to 25-1 and 7-0 record in NSAA.

Dakota State kicked off the week with a 3-1 road victory over rival No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Oct. 3. The Trojans wrapped up the week with a 3-1 home victory over Waldorf (Iowa) in the North Star Athletic Association action on Oct. 8. Dakota State is 12-5 overall record and 4-3 record in the league.

Bellevue closed the week with a 3-0 sweep over the Warriors on Oct. 9. The Bruins are 16-3 overall record and 7-1 record in the North Star Athletic Association matches. Waldorf fell to 7-10 overall record and 0-7 NSAA record.

Valley City State (N.D.) went 2-0 on the week at home. The Vikings swept Mayville State (N.D.) in three straight sets on Oct. 6. VCSU added another 3-0 sweep over Presentation (S.D.) on Oct. 9. Valley City State improved to 8-13 overall record and 5-2 record in NSAA contests.

The Comets bounced back in the winning column with a four-set victory at Dickinson State (N.D.) on Oct. 7. MSU is 13-8 overall record and 3-4 record in the league.

Dickinson State earned a 3-2 thriller over Presentation on Oct. 8. The Blue Hawks are 2-19 overall record and 2-6 NSAA conference record. The Saints fell to 11-9 overall record and 1-6 record in the league.

Looking Ahead
The second half of the North Star Athletic Association schedule kicks off on Tuesday with traveling partners facing each other.  Dickinson State (N.D.) travels to Valley City State (N.D.), while Mayville State (N.D.) visits Presentation (S.D.) and Waldorf (Iowa) hosts No. 2 Viterbo (Wis.). No. 8 Bellevue heads to Dakota State (S.D.) on Wednesday evening.

Mayville State heads south to No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Wednesday evening for a non-conference contest. Valley City State travels to NCAA Division III Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) on the same night.

Bellevue and Viterbo are scheduled to play in the Grand View (Iowa) tournament. The Bruins will play just on Frida versus No. 19 Montana Tech and Oklahoma City.  The V-Hawks face host-team No. 24 Grand View (Iowa) on Friday evening, followed by matches versus No. 22 Columbia (Mo.) and Montana Tech on Saturday.

Waldorf (Iowa) plays in a triangular with host-team Iowa Wesleyan and St. Louis Pharmacy (Mo.) on Saturday.

Tuesday’s Matches
Dickinson State (N.D.) @ Valley City State (N.D.) – 7 p.m.
Mayville State (N.D.) @ Presentation (S.D.) – 7 p.m.
(2) Viterbo (Wis.) @ Waldorf (Iowa) – 7 p.m.

Wednesday’s Matches
Mayville State (N.D.) @ (13) Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) – 5 p.m.
Valley City State (N.D.) @ Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) – 7 p.m.
(8) Bellevue (Neb.) @ Dakota State (S.D.) – 7 p.m.

            Friday’s Matches
Grand View (Iowa) Tournament – Des Moines, Iowa
(8) Bellevue (Neb.) vs. (19) Montana Tech – 1 p.m.
(8) Bellevue (Neb.) vs. (RV) Oklahoma City – 4 p.m.
(2) Viterbo (Wis.) @ (24) Grand View (Iowa) – 7 p.m.

            Saturday’s Matches
Grand View (Iowa) Tournament – Des Moines, Iowa
(2) Viterbo (Wis.) vs. (22) Columbia (Mo.) – 9 a.m.
(2) Viterbo (Wis.) vs. (19) Montana Tech – 12 p.m.
Iowa Wesleyan Triangular – Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Waldorf (Iowa) @ Iowa Wesleyan – 1 p.m.
Waldorf (Iowa) vs. St. Louis Pharmacy (Mo.) – 3 p.m.