Volleyball Rallies for Five-Set Thriller Against Jackrabbits

Saturday, October 22

Brookings, S.D.

8:00 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

16-7, 9-3Summit

South Dakota State

12-14, 4-9Summit

IPFW

South Dakota State

Photo by: Lucas Carter

Volleyball Rallies for Five-Set Thriller Against Jackrabbits

10/22/2011 10:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BOX SCORE

BROOKINGS, S.D. - The IPFW Mastodons were able to overcome a 2-0 deficit on Saturday evening, winning the final three sets, including a 19-17 thriller in the fifth to take the Summit League contest over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, giving the Mastodons nine consecutive wins in the series between the two teams.

Defending Summit League Setter of the Year Megan Steenhuysen led the charge by dishing out a career-high 76 assists, the third most in a match in school history, while Megan Wiler set a new career-high with 21 kills, while hitting at a .514 clip (21 kills, 2 errors, 37 attempts), the third highest attack percentage in a five-set match in school history.

Emily Spencer continued her run of double-figure kill matches with 23, while adding 22 digs for her 16th double-double of the season, as Jessie Manwaring and Alli Hook added 15 and 14 kills, apiece. Five players, led by Tessa McGill's 34, picked up double-figure digs, as McGill's total is the seventh most in school history for a fully-extended match.

Steenhuysen had 14 digs for her 33rd career double-double while Jen Milligan had 11 and Kendall Wienkes 10 digs apiece. Hook had a team-high five blocks, while Wiler chipped in four in the winning effort.

The first set had the hosts ahead by four at 9-5 before the visiting Mastodons (16-7, 9-3 Summit League), behind four kills from Spencer, ran off five consecutive points to lead by one at 10-9.The lead went back-and-forth,a nd the teams were tied at 16; however, the visitors ran off five straight points, and IPFW could not recover, falling in the opener 25-21.

The Mastodons used an 8-1 run to lead by five at 11-6, and led by three at 17-14, before the hosts closed the set on a 10-6 run to put IPFW on the brink of elimination in the match with a 25-23 second-set win.

IPFW found itself trailing by four early at 9-5 before the 'Dons, behind the strong serve of McGill, scored six consecutive points that saw Manwaring pick up three kills and Wiler two. The 'Jacks (12-14, 4-9 League) once again fought back, pushing ahead to a 14-12 lead before IPFW scored six of the next seven to lead 18-15, and not trailing again in the 25-21 Mastodon win.

The fourth set saw eight tie scores, and for the fourth straight set, three lead changes, with four of the tie scores coming after the teams were tied at 21 all. With the teams tied at 25, the Mastodons got a kill from Spencer, and a combo block from Hook and Manwaring to send the match to a fifth and final set.

IPFW scored the first two points of the fifth set, forcing an early Jackrabbit timeout. The break temporarily turned the tides, as SDSU scored five of the next six points to force IPFW into a timeout at 5-3. A 4-0 run, which included one kill each from Spencer, Wiler, Haley Emenhiser, and Wiler knotted the score at 10, and the teams were then tied at every number from 11 until 17.

Tied 17-17, Wiler and Manwaring combined for a block to have IPFW serve for match point, which the visitors would convert on when Steenhuysen found Manwaring for her 15th kill of the match, and finalizing the thrilling comeback.

With the 34 digs, McGill ups her season total to 500, the sixth time a player has recorded 500 or more digs in a season, and the second time in the junior's career that she has accomplished the feat. Now with 1,416 career digs, she sits 13th all-time in Summit League history in career digs.

Kelli Fiegen put down a career-high-tying 22 kills, while Kaitlin Klingemann added 16, and Kelly Hermann and Kelsey Hansen each added 10. Lexi Fowler dished out 56 assists, while Shay Birath and Fowler had 25 and 20 digs apiece.

After its four-match road trip, the Mastodons return to the Gates Sports Center on Friday, October 28, when the 'Dons host the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah with first serve slated for 7:00 p.m.

~Dons~