The Valley City State volleyball team split a pair of games Saturday, finishing the weekend with a 2-1 record at the Charger Invite hosted by Briar Cliff University.
 
VCSU defeated Briar Cliff in three straight sets for the second time this season by final scores of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-18. The Vikings then fell in a five-set battle to an undefeated Mount Mercy team, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 19-25 and 15-13.
 
VCSU is now 3-2 overall this season. Briar Cliff drops to 0-3 and Mount Mercy is now 5-0 overall.
 
The Vikings will play four matches at Bellevue's Labor Day Classic next weekend. On Friday, VCSU plays Lindsey Wilson at 11:30 a.m. and Ottawa University at 4:30 p.m. Then on Saturday, the Vikings will face Avila University at 9 a.m. and Missouri Valley at 2 p.m.
 
VCSU 3, Briar Cliff 0
VCSU opened with a clean sweep over Briar Cliff Saturday after hitting .302 as a team in the match. The Vikings also defeated the Chargers in three sets last weekend at the Red Raider Invite.
 
The Vikings opened up strong with 20 kills on a .429 attack percentage in the first set, helping VCSU to a 25-18 win. The Chargers challenged the Vikings in set two, tying the game at 22-all on a kill from Sami Wasmund. Danielle Hagler put the set away with the final two kills for VCSU to take the 25-23 victory and 2-0 lead.
 
From there, VCSU handily took the final set 25-18, including five of the last seven points capped by a kill from Bailey Nelson.
 
Nelson led VCSU at the net with 13 kills on .360 hitting and a pair of blocks. Danielle Hagler also totaled 13 kills with just one error for a .500 attack percentage.
 
Sadie Hansen finished the match with 44 assists and 11 digs, and JayCee Richter and Reagan Bogenreif each finished with 11 digs for VCSU.
 
Mount Mercy 3, VCSU 2
Valley City State dropped its second game of the day after a hard-fought battle with Mount Mercy. The Vikings took an early 8-1 run to build a 12-6 advantage in set one en route to a 25-20 victory.
 
Mount Mercy picked up the next set after taking six of the last eight points to finish with a 25-22 win. The Mustangs found a way to build a 17-10 advantage in the third set, but a Danielle Hagler kill allowed the Vikings to take a 10-5 run to close the gap to 22-20. Mount Mercy finished with the final three points to build a 2-1 set advantage.
 
VCSU found its way in the fourth set, hitting .464 as a team with just one attack error. The Vikings opened the set with a 9-3 advantage and finished with five of the final six points – capped by a Mardi Scutchings kill – to take the set 25-19 and even the match at 2-2.
 
Mount Mercy opened the final set with a 13-7 advantage, but a Hagler kill sparked a battle back by the Vikings with the next five points to close the gap to 13-12. The teams traded points as the Mustangs finished with a 15-13 victory over VCSU and maintaining their undefeated season.
 
Sadie Hansen finished with 49 set assists and led the Vikings with 22 digs in the match. JayCee Richter added 21 digs while Delani Clarke and Reagan Bogenreif each chipped in 14.
 
Bailey Nelson led the Viking attack with 15 kills, while Danielle Hagler tied her career-best with 14 kills on a .375 attack percentage. Emma Lucas added 11 kills and Morgan Freije chipped in 10.