VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State volleyball team ended its five-game win streak Friday night after falling to Viterbo in straight sets, 25-15, 25-15 and 28-26.
Danielle Hagler tallied 15 kills on a .545 attack percentage, but it wasn't enough to defeat the sixth-ranked team in the nation, who tallied 49 kills and nine block points on the night.
(RV) VCSU drops to 14-4 overall and 3-1 in the North Star. No. 6 Viterbo improves to 18-3 on the season and 5-0 in the conference.
VCSU dropped the first two sets – both by final set scores of 25-15 – to a strong-hitting Viterbo team. The V-Hawks recorded its best .424 hitting percentage of the night in the second set while tallying 17 kills, including seven from Kenzie Winker.
The Vikings wouldn't let up though, erasing an 18-12 deficit in set three with five straight points – including a pair of Hagler kills – to close the gap. With Viterbo leading 23-19, another Hagler kill sparked a 5-0 Viking run to lead 24-23. Viterbo scored the next two, but a Hagler kill halted the V-Hawks' match-point.
Viterbo had another chance at match-point at 26-25, but a V-Hawk error allowed the Vikings to stay alive. The V-Hawks used a Winker kill paired with a block by Marissa Kleman and Martina McGrath to lock in the 28-26 victory and the 3-0 match.
Sadie Hansen finished with 31 set assists, nine digs and three kills. Hansen now ranks third in VCSU history with 2,734 assists in her career.
In addition to Hagler's offense,
Bailey Nelson tallied eight kills Friday night. Nelson now ranks fifth all-time with 1,295 kills in the Viking uniform.
On the defensive side,
JayCee Richter totaled a game-high 19 digs while
Reagan Bogenreif added nine digs for VCSU.
Viterbo's Winker finished with 15 kills and Jada Mitchell added 13 kills without a single error in the match. Maddie Connor finished with 28 set assists while Cailie Kowal added 11, and Grace Rhode paced the defense with 17 digs.
UP NEXT: VCSU hosts Waldorf for another conference matchup on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Graichen Gym.
