VCSU Fri. Games

ORANGE CITY, IOWA  (VCSU)  – The Valley City State men’s basketball team was unable to overcome an off night shooting the ball Friday as the Vikings dropped an 85-65 road contest at Northwestern College.

VCSU is now 0-1 to start the season. Northwestern moves to 1-0.

The Vikings shot just 27 percent in the first half – including 1-for-11 from 3-point range – as they fell behind 49-26 at the break. VCSU trailed by as many as 29 points at 55-26 early in the second half. Over the next 10 minutes, the Vikings went on a 26-8 run as they trimmed the deficit to 63-52 on Duoth Gach‘s 3-pointer with 7:55 remaining. The Vikings could get no closer though as Northwestern maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

VCSU finished the game shooting 34 percent overall (22-64), 22 percent on 3’s (6-27) at 71 percent at the free throw line (15-21). Northwestern College shot 55 percent overall (34-62), 33 percent on 3’s (6-18) and 92 percent at the line (11-12).

Kevin Schramm had a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead VCSU in the loss. Gach added 12 points off the bench, and Tate Hebrink scored nine points and made two 3-pointers.

Up next: Valley City State will look to bounce back Saturday night as they play a 7:30 p.m. game at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa.

FOREST CITY, IOWA   (VCSU)  – The Valley City State volleyball seniors led a come-from-behind victory over Waldorf Friday night, 21-25, 24-26, 25-19, 25-16 and 16-14.

After trailing 2-0, VCSU took three straight must-win sets to complete the comeback. The Vikings also had to come from behind in the final set as they turned a 7-2 deficit into a 16-14 victory to finish the match Friday.

VCSU improves to 13-14 overall and 8-3 in the North Star. Waldorf drops to 10-14 overall and 1-10 in the conference.

Valley City State’s four seniors made a strong showing Friday night as Katie Juarez totaled 16 kills and 13 digs for a double-double. Kallene Klever added a team-high 16 digs and Jakenda Short contributed 11 digs and a pair of service aces. Middle blocker Makayla Wetzel added eight kills and four solo blocks Friday.

In addition, junior Bailey Nelson contributed 15 kills and freshman Sadie Hansen added 44 set assists, eight kills and eight digs for VCSU.

Waldorf took the first two sets on its home court as VCSU couldn’t gain momentum, committing nine attack errors in each set. Waldorf finished with four straight points to take the first set 25-21. The Warriors then used an 11-2 rally to come from behind and win the second set 26-24.

VCSU picked up its momentum as the Vikings cut their attack errors in half for the remaining sets. With the third set tied at 15-all, a kill from Bailey Nelson sent the Vikings on a 7-1 run to pull away and take a 25-19 victory.

The Vikings held on in the fourth set, opening with a 16-10 advantage and continuing to expand its lead to a 25-16 Viking win.

With the match tied 2-2, Waldorf opened the final set with a 7-2 advantage. VCSU then took an 8-2 run including service aces from Lexi Leroux and Jakenda Short to take over the lead at 10-9. A kill from Brooke Blessum brought up match point at 14-10 but Waldorf scored the next four straight points to tie at 14-all. A Waldorf service error and a solo block from Blessum secured the five-set victory for the Vikings.

Waldorf’s Zoee Pond and Abygail Wood combined for 29 kills and six solo blocks to lead the Warriors Friday. Pond totaled 16 kills and three blocks while Wood tallied 13 kills and three blocks.

Kaitlyn Bakke totaled 40 set assists and nine digs Friday and Kaylee Kidd totaled a team-high 16 digs for the Warriors.

UP NEXT: VCSU travels to face No. 2 Viterbo on Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. in La Crosse, Wis.