Volleyball on Fire for Winning Season
Carl Curtis
This past weekend, the Dakota State Volleyball Team played their final home games against Oklahoma Wesleyan and Mayville State. The Trojans won both matches with improving their record at home to 9-2. These two wins also moved their overall record to 16-15.
In the first match of Saturday, the Trojans struggled with committing 11 attacks errors and lost the first match with a score of 25-23. However, they bounced back in the second match winning it 25-13. In the third set against the eagles, the Trojans jumped out to an early 20-10 lead. OWU scored 7 straight points to trim the lead to 3 points. DSU ended up finishing them off, winning the match 25-22. The fourth match was very close. Both teams tied each other over eight times during the match. The Trojans used a 4-0 scoring run to pull away late and grabbed a 25-21, match victory.
In the fourth set of the match Stephanie Kruggel recorded her 1,000th career kill. She has 22 kills and 15 digs. Kruggel was also named conference A.I.I. Female Athlete of the Week “Accomplishing something like 1000 kills isn’t something I could have achieved without the teammates I’ve played with over the last four years. I am so grateful to have been a part of the DSU volleyball program,” said Stephanie Kruggel about her accomplishments.
Among the other Trojans, Kristen DiPaola added 16 kills. Caitlin Pick had a good day in the first match recording 9 kills and 4.5 blocks. Stacey Schuller had an amazing 50 set assists. Katie Green led the defense with 13 digs. Schuller had 11 digs and Tuenge and Uher had 10 digs.
In the next match the Trojans took on their old DAC rival Mayville State.
The lady Trojans struggled in the first match again committing 10 attack errors and dropping the first set with a score of 25-15. In the second match DSU refocused and won a close second set with the score of 25-23. The Trojans opened up the third set with a quick scoring run but the comets stuck around and tied it up at 18. DSU went on another scoring run and won the third set 25-22. The Trojans dominated the fourth set early, jumping out to a 17-7 lead. The Comets tried to climb back but failed to do so. DSU won the fourth set with a score of 25-19.
Stephanie Kruggel was on fire as she recorded her career high 25 kills. She also led the defense with 15 digs. DiPaola had 14 kills and Lauren LaBar added 12. Schuller contributed to her assists from last match and recorded 54.
This weekend’s last home matches, also marked the last home games for seniors Kruggel and LaBar.
The Trojans will travel to the University of Sioux Falls for the Halloween Volleyball Tournament. The Trojans will take on Sioux Falls on Friday in the first match of the weekend, starting at 3pm in the Stewart Center.
