MITCHELL, S.D. – The Valley City State volleyball team was upended by Dakota Wesleyan University Tuesday night in straight sets 25-17, 25-22 and 25-22.
 
Dakota Wesleyan outhit the Vikings Tuesday with 41 kills to VCSU’s 29 in the match. VCSU drops to 10-11 overall and remains 2-3 in the North Star. Dakota Wesleyan improves to 9-13 on the season and is 3-7 in the GPAC.
 
The Tigers held the Vikings to just four kills in the opening set and pulled away early en route to a 25-17 win and take a 1-0 advantage in the match. After trailing 16-9 in the second set, VCSU closed the gap with an 8-4 rally, helped by of a pair of Macy Fridgen kills. The Vikings pulled within two points on a block from Morgan Nelson and Sadie Hansen to trail 24-22, but fell short in the final rally on a kill from DWU’s Emily Dale.
 
With the match on the line, VCSU opened the third set with an early 10-6 lead. Dakota Wesleyan then pulled back into the set with six straight points including two blocks by Kayleigh Hybertson and Olivia Holmen. The teams kept it close holding several ties down the stretch, but the Tigers held on for the 25-22 win and 3-0 match.
 
Fridgen and Nelson each tallied eight kills on the night to lead VCSU’s offense while Sadie Hansen totaled 25 assists. Delani Clarke posted 23 digs for the Vikings while Hansen added 11 and JayCee Richter tallied eight.
 
Dakota Wesleyan’s Evy Knoblock recorded a game-high 11 kills on the night while Olivia Holmen tallied six blocks Tuesday. Elizabeth Tyler led all players with 29 digs and Kayleigh Hybertson totaled 33 assists for the Tigers.
 
UP NEXT: VCSU begins the second half of its conference game schedule Friday at Dickinson State. First serve is slated for 4 p.m. CT.