Valley City – The Valley City State volleyball team took the No. 14 team in the country to a five-set battle Saturday afternoon in Graichen Gym. The Vikings fell to Bellevue University in close sets, 25 – 21, 25 – 27, 25 – 22, 26 – 28 and 15 – 8.

Three Vikings recorded double-doubles in Saturday’s match. Sadie Hansen recorded 45 set assists and 19 digs, Bailey Nelson added 16 kills and 10 digs, and Danielle Hagler chipped in 11 kills and 15 digs for VCSU.

VCSU drops to 8-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play. Bellevue improves to 14-5 on the season and 5-0 in the North Star.

The Vikings started strong Saturday, opening with an 18-12 advantage in set one. The Bruins then gained momentum with an 8-1 run to take over the lead en route to a 25-21 victory.

VCSU then trailed by as much as five points in the second set but continued to battle with a late 6-1 rally to lead 23-21. Bellevue made a run to set up set point at 25-24, but the Vikings finished with the next three points to win the second set 27-25.

The third set remained close throughout, but Bellevue claimed the set 25-22 after locking down the final four points of the set. Valley City State then opened with six straight points in the fourth set, and led by as much as seven points at 16-9. Bellevue inched closer and halted a set-point opportunity to take over the lead at 25-24. The Vikings answered back and put away the set on kills from Danielle Hagler and Morgan Freije.

The Bruins were then determined to win the fifth set as they totaled 14 kills on a .424 attack percentage, finishing with the 15-8 set victory and the 3-2 match.

Three additional Vikings totaled double figure digs Saturday as the match featured many long rallies. JayCee Richter totaled a new career-high 33 digs Saturday while Delani Clarke finished with 19 and Lexi Leroux chipped in 13. VCSU totaled a season-high 116 digs in Saturday’s match.

Outside hitter Emma Lucas added 16 kills on a .316 attack percentage, and Morgan Freije added seven kills for VCSU. Morgan Nelson contributed six blocks (5 assisted, 1 solo) at the net for the Vikings.

Bellevue had four players with double figure kills Saturday, led by Jacki Apel with a game-high 19 kills and 10 assisted blocks. Olivia Galas finished with 55 set assists, 23 digs, 10 kills and five assisted blocks.

Taylan Keefer led the Bruins defense with 41 digs while Sierra Athen chipped in 25 digs, 16 kills and five assisted blocks.

UP NEXT: VCSU travels to Mayville State for a conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 5. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.