VALLEY CITY, N.D.- The Valley City State Vikings picked up their second win in a row and third in four matches with a 3-1 win over Dickinson State in Frontier Conference volleyball Friday night, September 26^th at the Bubble. The Vikings won 25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 25-18.

Valley City State is now 6-8 overall and 4-5 in the Frontier Conference. Dickinson State falls to 7-7 overall and 3-6 in the conference.

In the first set, Valley City State jumped out to a four-point lead. A kill by Ellie Lucas gave VCSU a 3-2 lead and was part of a five-point run to give the Vikings the lead for good. An unforced error by Dickinson State made the score 6-2. The Blue Hawks did get back to within one point on three occasions the rest of the set, but they were never able to get the lead back. The best run either team had the rest of the set was four-point. The Vikings' run helped to open a seven-point lead. Another unforced error by Dickinson State made 23-17 VCSU. Dickinson State's four-point run cut the lead to 24-22 but a Morgan Freije kill ended the set with the Vikings winning 25-22.

The second set was back and forth, neither team had scored more than three points in a row the entire set. There were six ties and three lead changes in the set. After the Blue Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 start, the Vikings had the best run of the set, 6-2, to take the lead. A kill by Molly Bjorneby made it 6-5 Valley City State. After a service error tied it, Bjorneby had another kill to give the lead back to the Vikings 7-6. Dickinson State went on a 3-0 run to take the lead back for good. A kill by Makyah Albrecht made it 8-7 Blue Hawks. The Vikings would tie it one more time when a kill by Morgan Freije tied the score at 11-11. The Blue Hawks would then go on their own 6-2 run to take the lead to 17-13. Dickinson State would take the set 25-20.

The third set was again back and forth early on. The Vikings would have an early 5-2 lead after a Freije kill. Dickinson State would then go on a 7-2 run to take the lead at 9-7. The Vikings came back to tie it at 10-10 with an 8-3 run, capped off by a Danielle Hagler kill. After the Blue Hawks went back up 11-10, VCSU went on a 9-2 run to take a six-point lead. An unforced error by Dickinson State made it 19-13 Vikings. The closest the Blue Hawks would come the rest of the way was four points, which they did twice. But the Vikings would take the set 25-19.

Things did not start well for Valley City State in the fourth set. The Blue Hawks started the set on an 8-3 run. Valley City State would rally and go on a 7-1 run to take the lead. A kill by Bjorneby made it 10-9 VCSU. Dickinson State would tie it three times, then take the lead on an unforced error by VCSU to make it 16-15 Blue Hawks. But Valley City State would go on a 10-2 run to end the set, the seven of those points came in a row, to take a seven-point lead. Another Bjorneby kill made it 24-17, then a kill by Madden Bogenreif made it 25-18 Vikings to take the set and the match.

The Vikings had one of their best hitting night's s of the season with a .265 hitting percentage. They were led by Macy Fridgen who had. Career high 20 kills with a .342 hitting percentage. Danielle Hagler had 13 kills and a .429 hitting percentage. Molly Bjorenby had a career high 10 kills as well for the Vikings. Morgan Freije added nine kills. Hagler led the team at the net with five blocks (1 solo, 4 assist). Bjorneby added three blocks. Both setters had double-doubles. Madde Bogenreif had 24 assists and twelve digs. Gracie Schumacher had eleven digs and 23 assists. JayCee Richter led the defense with 24 digs and added eight assists. Annika Pulju had ten digs.

UP NEXT: The Vikings hit the road for the next five matches. They travel to Madison, South Dakota to play Dakota State on Wednesday, October 1^st. The to Bellevue, Nebraska to take on #5 Bellevue on Thursday, October 2^nd.