Oct. 4, 2012
NDSU Livestats
SDSU Livestats
VERMILLION, S.D. - A pair of games against old rivals will be on the slate for the South Dakota volleyball team this weekend, as they travel to see defending Summit League champion North Dakota State on Friday, and face a strong South Dakota State team on Saturday. Both games start at 7 p.m.
"This weekend is a big weekend in a sense that it's really our rivalry weekend," head coach Matt Houk said. "There is always some added excitement to play NDSU and SDSU."
South Dakota has lost five straight, but there are plenty of reasons for optimism heading into this week. North Dakota State (5-11, 2-4) has struggled so far this season, while the Coyotes swept the Jackrabbits (12-5, 4-2) last season.
The Coyotes have also been competitive in the skid. They have lost four of the five matches in four sets, but in three of those four set matches, they lost at least one set by two points. They also took Kansas City to five sets on Saturday before losing in the fifth set by two points.
Kim Bulaga (Crystal Lake, Ill.) has been on a good run offensively with 13 kills against Creighton and a season-high 16 against Kansas City. She also added 27 digs over the two matches. Kendall Kritenbrink (Gretna, Neb.) and Amber Aschoff (Ankeny, Iowa) also had 20-plus kills last week with 27 and 21, respectively.
Riley Haug (Gretna, Neb.) had 16 digs against Creighton and 18 digs against UMKC last week. She has reached at least 10 digs in six of the last seven matches.
Several younger players are also seeing playing time and contributing. Against Kansas City, sophomore Melissa Firtko (Racine, Wis.) had nine kills, while freshman Kelsey Biltoft (Nelson, Neb.) recorded eight kills and five block assists. Kaitlyn Hastings (New Berlin, Wis.) added defense for the Coyotes in that match with 17 digs.
"We've been pleased with the progression of Firtko and Biltoft," Houk said. "It shows they have good work ethics and have been learning what it takes to play at this level. Their commitment to this program is starting to pay off with more time on the floor."
Live stats will be available for both games and can be accessed through goyotes.com.
About North Dakota State: Outside hitter Megan Lambertson was named Summit League Co-Offensive Player of the Week this past week with a career-high 21 kills at Fort Wayne. Brynn Joki is fifth in the conference in kills per set (3.76) and Lambertson is sixth in that stat (3.64). Andrea Henning is seventh in digs per set (4.44), and Catherine Yager is fourth in assists per set at 10.00. NDSU have lost seven matches against top-100 schools rated in the RPI.
About South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits Kelli Fiegen is one of the top net threats in the conference. Fiegen leads the conference in blocks pet set (1.54), is third in hitting percentage (.353) and is ninth in kills per set (3.10). Shay Birath is the defensive leader with 5.03 digs per set, which is third in the conference. SDSU is fifth in the conference in offense at 12.61 kills per set, but leads the conference in blocks per set at 2.70.
