SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Senior outside hitter Bailey Nelson totaled 31 kills Saturday as the Viking volleyball team won a pair of matches over Southwestern and Briar Cliff to close out play at the Charger Invite.
Valley City State defeated Southwestern in a clean 3-0 sweep to pick up its first win of the season by final scores of 25-22, 25-16 and 28-26. The Vikings then followed with a 3-2 victory over tournament-host Briar Cliff (17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 15-11) to improve to a 2-2 record this season. Southwestern drops to 1-2 and Briar Cliff falls to 1-1 overall.
UP NEXT: Valley City State travels to Bellevue, Neb. to play four matches at the Bellevue Invitational Sept. 1-3. VCSU opens the tournament against No. 25 Ottawa University on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.
VCSU 3, Southwestern 0
Valley City State defeated Southwestern in three sets Saturday, holding the Moundbuilders to a .031 attack percentage in the match. VCSU also tallied 44 kills to Southwestern's 29 total kills.
Midway through the first set, Bailey Nelson helped the Vikings take a 5-1 run with three kills of her own to build a 19-14 lead. The Moundbuilders found a way to close the gap but a final block by Bailey Nelson and Morgan Nelson secured the set for the Vikings, 25-22.
The Vikings then found a 6-0 run in the second set led by three kills from Emma Lucas to build a 12-17 advantage. VCSU also capitalized on 10 attack errors by Southwestern to take the second set 25-16.
Southwestern wasn't giving up though as they held onto several ties near the end of the third set at 22-, 24-, 25- and 26-all. Kills from Lucas and Danielle Hagler helped put away the set 28-26 for VCSU and match 3-0.
Bailey Nelson finished with 16 kills and Danielle Hagler added a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs against Southwestern. Sadie Hansen totaled 24 set assists while Delani Clarke added 16 assists and 14 digs. JayCee Richter added a team-high 15 digs in the match and Morgan Nelson chipped in a team-best 4 blocks Saturday.
VCSU 3, Briar Cliff 2
Valley City State carried its momentum into the second game of the day as the Vikings defeated the Chargers in a five-set thriller.
Briar Cliff took the first set 25-17 after tallying 17 kills on its home court. VCSU continued to battle and kept it close in the second set, pulling ahead late in the game on kills from Bailey Nelson, Lexi Leroux and Danielle Hagler to lead 21-18. After Briar Cliff scored three straight points to tie the game at 23-23, the Vikings finished the set on a Morgan Nelson kill followed by a Bailey Nelson and Morgan Freije block.
Neither team led by more than two points in the third set, but Emma Lucas came through for the Vikings with a pair of kills to win the set 25-23.
Briar Cliff played with urgency in the fourth set, pulling ahead with five straight points at 21-16. VCSU closed the gap to 21-19 but the Chargers finished with four of the next five points to win 25-20 and force a fifth set.
Valley City State hit .455 in the final set and led by as much as six points at 12-6. Briar Cliff took a 4-1 run to make it 13-10 when the Vikings took a time out. Kills from Bailey Nelson and Morgan Freije sealed the set 15-11 and match 3-2 in favor of the Vikings.
Bailey Nelson tallied 15 kills while hitting .364 to lead the Vikings. Emma Lucas totaled 12 kills and Morgan Nelson added 11 kills for VCSU. Morgan Freije finished with nine kills while Lexi Leroux totaled eight kills and 18 digs.
Sadie Hansen and Delani Clarke tallied 27 assists apiece while JayCee Richter finished with a career-high 28 digs Saturday.
