SIOUX CITY, IOWA – The Valley City State volleyball team split a pair of games Friday at the Siouxland Invitational, including a win over tournament-host Briar Cliff.
 
No. 22 VCSU fell to (RV) McPerson College in straight sets and later defeated Briar Cliff 3-1 as several Vikings recorded season-bests. VCSU is now 3-3 on the season and plays two more games Saturday at the Siouxland Invitational.
 
The Vikings will face Dordt University at 11:30 a.m.  and Haskell Indian Nations University at 2:00 p.m. Fans can follow the action with a pay-per-view livestream and live stats.
 
LIVESTREAM | DORDT STATS | HASKELL STATS
 
(RV) McPherson 3, No. 22 VCSU 0
McPherson College defeated the Vikings in straight sets to open the tournament, 25-19, 25-16 and 25-22.
 
VCSU led the attack with 42 kills to McPherson's 41, but the Vikings totaled 22 attack errors to McPherson's six in the match.
 
Despite leading 13-5 early in the first set, McPherson made a late surge to come from behind to finish with a 9-2 rally to take a 25-19 win. The Bulldogs held onto the momentum the rest of the way, hitting over .285 in the next two sets to take the sweep over the nationally-ranked Vikings.
 
Emma Lucas led VCSU with 10 kills while hitting .280 in the match. Macy Fridgen added nine kills while Danielle Hagler totaled eight and Morgan Freije chipped in seven. Sadie Hansen posted 32 set assists, 11 digs and five kills for the Vikings.
 
Defensively, Delani Clarke tied a career-best with 26 digs Friday. Ellie Rush added 14 digs and a service ace for the Vikings.
 
No. 22 VCSU 3, Briar Cliff 1
After dropping the first set, VCSU took the next three straight to win the match 3-1 with set scores of 21-25, 25-22, 25-21 and 25-10.
 
Briar Cliff hit .302 in the first set to open with an early lead. VCSU came back in the next set, taking a 9-3 run midway through to tie the match.
 
The Vikings held on in set three, tallying 14 kills and just three errors in the set. VCSU took the final set by storm, totaling 16 kills on a .327 hitting percentage en route to a 25-10 victory.
 
The Viking defense kept the Vikings in the match as Delanie Clarke (40) and Lexi Thorsgard (22) recorded career-high digs. Ellie Rush totaled 19 digs while Sadie Hansen added 18 and Danielle Hagler posted 14.
 
Macy Fridgen recorded a season-high 17 kills to lead the Viking offense. Morgan Nelson added a season-high 14 kills while hitting .483, and Hagler added nine kills and four blocks.
 
Sadie Hansen posted a season-best 50 set assists in the match to round out the Viking leaders Friday.