Jackrabbits hang with top-ranked Huskers in sweep

BROOKINGS – South Dakota State hung with No. 1 ranked Nebraska for two sets on Wednesday night at First Bank & Trust Arena, but the Huskers proved to be too talented and came away with a sweep.

Nebraska won the first two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-20 before winning set three 25-15. The 20 points in set two were the most points Nebraska had given up in two regular season matches and two exhibition matches so far this season.

Senior outside hitter Sylvie Zgonc said despite the loss, she had a lot of fun in front of a sold out crowd of 5,113.

“That was so fun,” Zgonc said. “That was an unreal atmosphere, and man, I love being a Jackrabbit. … [It] doesn’t matter [that we lost]. I mean, to play in front of 5,000 people in our home gym with the community of Brookings was just insane. I think that was so special for the state of South Dakota. That was an unreal experience.”

The two teams traded points in the first set until Nebraska went on a 3-0 run to go up 7-4. SDSU would fight back and cut the lead to 11-9 but the Huskers then scored four of the next six points to go up 15-11. It was then 15-13 when Nebraska went on a 5-0 run to pull away from SDSU.

The Jackrabbits held multiple leads in the latter portion of set two after trailing 9-4. They used a 5-1 run to cut the lead to one and then a service ace from Joslyn Richardson put SDSU up 12-11. The two teams then traded points for a while and the Jacks led 18-17. However, Nebraska would then go on an 8-2 run to close out the set and go up 2-0.

The Huskers came out of the intermission with a purpose and jumped out to a 6-1 lead in set three. SDSU fought back and cut the lead to 9-7 but Nebraska immediately pushed the lead back to five. It was then 16-11 when the Huskers scored five of the next six points to make it 21-12. The Jacks then scored two in-a-row but Nebraska closed things out with a 4-1 run.

Nebraska had 38 kills and SDSU had 25. The Huskers had 33 digs and 10 blocks. The Jacks had 31 digs and eight blocks. SDSU had a hitting percentage of .167 and Nebraska hit .267.

Zgonc led the Jacks with 12 kills. Brooke Larsen had 12 assists and Rylee Martin had eight assists. Joslyn Richardson had 11 digs and Taylor Byl had five blocks.

“I couldn’t be happier with our performance,” said SDSU head coach Dan Georgalas. “I mean, [Zgonc] had the match high in kills. Taylor Byl, a redshirt sophomore who got benched this past weekend, I’m pretty sure she led the match in blocks. I couldn’t be happier. Our group represented our program, our campus, our university, Brookings and the state of South Dakota at the highest level.”

Sioux Falls native Bergen Reilly led the Huskers with 32 assists. She said it was fun to play in her home state and be a part of the record for college volleyball attendance in the state of South Dakota.

“It was fun,” Reilly said. “I knew quite a few people here and had a lot of family here. … [The attendance record] is awesome. I’m glad we could maybe be a small part of that. But it’s awesome how volleyball is growing around the country. But in South Dakota, I think we’ve been just a little bit behind, so it’s cool to see us starting to catch up, and this is a big testament to that.”

SDSU dropped to 1-3 on the season. The Jacks will host the SDSU Invitational this weekend. They’ll play Western Illinois and Northern Arizona on Friday before closing the tournament out with Bradley on Saturday.

Georgalas said the Jacks treated the Huskers like any other opponent and they’ll continue to do the same the rest of the season.

“We’re going to focus on opponent five [next],” Georgalas said. “Our goal board doesn’t have names or logos. Our scouting report was for opponent number four today. … That’s the level of discipline and structure that we want in our program. I know it was a great showing against a Big Ten team and we [go up against two more Big Ten teams at the Pentagon. 

“We’ve got a sweet 16 team in Kansas on their home floor. Players like [Zgonc] and our other seniors have helped build this thing up and we’re not scared of anybody. I’m just a fan. That’s an awesome style of play to support.”