RAPID CITY, S.D. -- For the first time since 2002, the Dickinson State volleyball team got the best of National American.
The seventh-ranked Blue Hawks outlasted the fifth-ranked Mavericks 30-15, 33-31, 22-30, 34-32 on Saturday night in a key NAIA Region III match.
"It feels nice to win for a change," DSU coach Dave Moody said. "It's been five years."
Judith Boel notched 22 kills in the match and Nancy Nyongesa had 16 kills.
DSU (18-2) was again without the services of All-American senior Elizabeth Rodriguez, who is still nursing a sprained ankle.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We proved we're a capable team without Rodriguez on the court," Moody said. "That was huge for us."
However, DSU came into the game on a low point.
Ninth-ranked Columbia (Mo.) College edged the Blue Hawks 30-28, 29-31, 24-30, 23-30 prior to the NAU match.
NAU (16-6) beat Columbia (13-6) earlier in the day.
"We all got at least something we wanted from the weekend," Moody said.
DSU's win and loss could throw a wrench into the national standings, but should also prop them to No. 1 in the region rankings.
"It worked out all right," Moody said. "We preserved the integrity of our region."
Moody said the win over NAU should negate the Blue Hawks' loss to Columbia.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We needed to win because you look at the national rankings right now, we lose that match and we might go out of the top 10," Moody said.
