Valley City ND (VCSU) – The Valley City State University volleyball team took down (RV) Dakota State University in the final Frontier Conference home game of the season. The Vikings closed out the match in a nail-biting five sets. Set scores were 20-25, 25-23, 25-18,13-25, and 15-13.

The Vikings finish their first season in the Frontier Conference with a 13-14 overall record going 11-11 in conference games. Dakota State is now 16-12 overall and 12-10 in conference games.

The first set was opened with Dakota State catching fire early on, going on a 6-0 run, accumulating a 9-4 lead, forcing a Viking timeout. Valley reeled in, getting within three after a pair of kills by Danielle Hagler. They hung in there until the score of 17-14 after a kill by senior Macy Fridgen. The Trojans found their groove, pulling out the first set with the score of 25-20.

The second and closest set in the match featured three lead changes, along with three lead changes. Early on, the Trojans held a 1–2-point lead. Trailing 7-5, the Vikings scored three straight, capturing their first lead of the set at 8-7, causing a Trojan timeout. They followed that with another 3-0, taking an 11-8 lead, getting kills from Emma Lucas, Danielle Hagler, and Macy Fridgen. Dakota State rallied a few points later, capturing a 20-18 lead from a four-point run. After a Viking timeout, VCSU scored a pair of points with a kill and an assisted block by Hagler. Three points later, they took a 22-21 lead from a DSU attack error. They then took the set with the straight kills by Lucas and Fridgen.

In the third, the Viking found an early 8-4 lead thanks to kills by Fridgen and Eden Carrier. JayCee Richter scored on a service ace to make it 8-4. Later, with a two-point lead, the Vikings scored four straight points with two kills by Fridgen, one from Lucas, and Madden Bogenreif. By then, the Vikings had captured a five-point lead that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the set. VCSU closed the set 25-18 after a DSU attack error.

Dakota State played solid volleyball in the fourth, creating long rallies, giving very few easy points. DSU took an early 8-2 lead, which grew into one they would hold for the rest of the set. The Viking fell 25-13 in the fourth.

In the fifth and final set of the regular season, the Trojans started with the serve. The Vikings grabbed the first point, capturing the first lead in the extra set. DSU got two kills in a row from Halle Bruflat, taking a 3-2 lead. The Vikings responded with three points of their own, scoring on a DSU error and two kills by Fridgen. Leading by two, the Vikings saw three points slip away, two via attack error, forcing a Viking timeout. After the break, the Vikings reclaimed the lead, scoring on two kills by Eden Carrier and a DSU error. The Trojans had one last push, scoring five of the next six, capturing an 11-9 lead. Coach Meiklejohn called their last timeout. VCSU tied the game 11-11 right after the timeout, with a Hagler kill and block by Lucas and Hagler. DSU took their last lead of the match with a kill by Ashley Wangler, making it 12-11. Scoring three in a row, VCSU captured a 14-12 lead with kills by Fridgen and Hagler. At match point number one the Trojans survived one point but fell to one final Fridgen kill securing the Vikings final win of the regular season.

The Vikings were led by Macy Fridgen, who tallied a career high of 28 kills. Madden Bogenrief passed for 30 assists, while Gracie Schumacher followed with 26. Senior JayCee Richter recorded 33 digs in the contest. Danielle Hagler had a team-leading seven total blocks.

UP NEXT: The Vikings are slated to compete in the Frontier Conference Post Season Tournament held in Helena, Mont., from Nov. 13-15.