MADISON, S.D. – Valley City State's Bailey Nelson pounded a new career-high 18 kills Sunday afternoon as the Viking volleyball team defeated Dakota State in five sets, 23-25, 25-23, 10-25, 25-20 and 15-8.

VCSU's Caitlyn Fischbach (13) and Brooke Blessum (11) also tallied double figure kills Sunday. Makayla Wetzel added nine kills and three assisted blocks in the Viking victory.

Sadie Hansen finished with a career-best 50 set assists and seven digs in the five-set battle. Kallene Klever led all players with 25 digs in the match while Katie Juarez added 14 digs and seven kills for VCSU.

Valley City State improves to 6-13 overall and 3-2 in the North Star. Dakota State drops to 10-4 on the season at 3-2 in the conference.

In the first set, Dakota State narrowly edged VCSU as they came back from a 22-21 deficit to win 25-23.

Valley City State trailed by as much as five points in set two and trailed 19-22 late in the set. A kill from Makayla Wetzel sparked a 6-1 Viking run to secure the 25-23 victory.

The Trojans then tallied 15 kills on a .714 hitting percentage and ended with seven straight points to take set three, 25-10.

Then in set four, the Vikings stormed to an 18-10 advantage capped by a Bailey Nelson kill. The Trojans inched closer and held off four straight Viking set point opportunities. A Nelson kill finally put away the set for the Vikings at 25-20 and tie the match at 2-2.

Valley City State finished the final set without any attack errors for a .350 hitting percentage. The Vikings took six of the final eight points to win the fifth set 15-8 and the match 3-2.

Madalyn Groft paced the Trojans with 26 set assists and 16 kills in the match. Maddie Polzin contributed 12 kills and Riley Grandpre added 11. Peyton Groft finished with 22 digs for the Trojans.

UP NEXT: Valley City State hosts Mayville State for a mid-week conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 6. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. in Graichen Gym.