If the Dickinson State volleyball team is anything, it’s scrappy and relentless.
The Blue Hawks (6-25, 3-7 North Star Athletic Association) fought back from a 16-8 deficit in the third set to grab the momentum away from Presentation (S.D.) College en route to a 3-1 NSAA match win Saturday night at Scott Gymnasium.
Freshman defensive specialist Maggie Green led DSU’s defense with 13 digs.
“It was great to see that none of us gave up, and we worked even harder to pull it out and get a win,” Green said. “That was really awesome.”
The first set cranked up the intensity of the match. After falling behind 10-9, the Saints (13-18, 4-9) took back control and got to game-point at 24-20.
Presentation had three game-points, in fact, but didn’t close. DSU took control at 29-28 where the Saints called a timeout, but the Blue Hawks scored the last two points to win the opening frame 31-29.
“The first set was very exciting because they had the opportunity to win a bunch of times and we only had a couple,” DSU head coach Jenn Hartman said. “For us to pull that off was really impressive.”
The Blue Hawks fell twice into three-point deficits in the second set, but tied it up 14-14. The Saints went on an 11-5 run to close the set out at 25-20 to tie the match at intermission. Presentation’s offense was clicking in the frame. Taylor Boesl led the Saints with a team-high 15 kills.
“We stayed composed, and that was a good thing for us to see and for us to finish,” Saints head coach Chelsey Albrecht said. “We carried it over into the third and lost a little bit of that composure.”
Presentation took that momentum into the third set and jumped out to a 16-8 lead. However, offensive miscues from Presentation - three hitting errors and two serving errors - and stingy defense from DSU led to the Saints calling a timeout with just a 23-21 advantage.
The Blue Hawks’ offense, led by junior outside hitter Brenna Hansen’s team-high 15 kills, won the third set 26-24 thanks to five unanswered points.
“That was just the momentum Dickinson needed,” Albrecht said. “It was enough on their home court to run away with.”
DSU battled again in the fourth set out to a 9-9 tie, but the Blue Hawks would end the third set - and the match - with a 15-7 run to finish their regular season and NSAA schedules with a 25-17 set victory.
“I think we have definitely gotten better this season, even if you look back at our scores against Jamestown that first conference game,” Hartman said. “We definitely competed harder and made less mistakes. With these really young defensive players, we’ve really matured and grown into this type of defense.”
The Blue Hawks’ next contest will come in the NSAA tournament, which begins Wednesday. Their opponent and match time has not yet been announced.
“We definitely need to be as confident as we were at the end,” Green said. “In tournament play, teams just need to look out.”
Dickinson State 3, Presentation College 1
PC 29 25 24 17 - 1
DSU 31 20 26 25 - 3
Kills: PC, Abigail Wahl 2, Mallori Radenberg 8, Karly Fuhrman 7, Jordyn Dekker 4, Taylor Orhn 15, Maria Nightingale 9, Jacey Holst 4, Maddie Goetz 2. DSU, Shaylee Singleton 7, Brenna Hansen 15, Danielle Boyette 5, Tessa Sian 8, Shelby Gustafson 9, Magdalyn Rauser 10, Sydney Bentz 4.
Blocks: PC, Radenberg 1.5, Fuhrman 1, Dekker 0.5, Orhn 1.5, Nightingale 2.5, Holst 1. DSU, Singleton 0.5, Hansen 1, Boyette 0.5, Sian 4, Gustafson 2, Rauser 1, Bentz 1.
Aces: PC, Wahl 1, Fuhrman 1, Kaitlyn Boesl 1, Goetz 3. DSU, Singleton 1, Boyette 1, Gustafson 3.
Digs: PC, Wahl 5, Radenberg 2, Orhn 7, Boesl 20, Tegan McManaman 2, Holst 3, Goetz 7. DSU, Singleton 9, Ali Hert 5, Hansen 8, Boyette 5, Gustafson 3, Maggie Green 13, Rauser 2.
Assists: PC, Wahl 14, Goetz 21. DSU, Boyette 46, Green 2.
