VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Valley City State fought off three match points and survived an extended fifth set Saturday morning, defeating Montana State-Northern to close a weekend split at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.
The Vikings earned a 25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 18-25, 21-19 victory over the Skylights after falling to the University of Providence in four sets Friday night.
Eden Carrier led VCSU with 17 kills Saturday, while Kadie Kocka and Madysen Geist added 14 apiece. Kocka also collected a team-high 28 digs as the Vikings held off Northern's comeback attempt.
VCSU 3, MSU-Northern 2
After winning the first two sets, Valley City State had to regroup as Northern took the next two to force a deciding fifth set.
The Vikings built an 8-4 advantage in the fifth, but the Skylights answered and eventually moved ahead 14-11. With their backs against the wall, the Vikings responded with three straight points. Carrier delivered a kill, Gracie Schumacher followed with a service ace, and Carrier put away another swing to tie the set at 14-14.
Carrier delivered again with VCSU facing another match point at 15-14, keeping the Vikings alive. The teams continued trading chances before Geist's kill gave Valley City State a 20-19 lead. Kocka finished the match on the next rally, putting away a kill off an assist from Madden Bogenreif.
VCSU's serving helped establish the early advantage. The Vikings recorded five aces in the opening set and finished with 10 for the match. They followed the 25-17 opening win with 16 kills in the second set, taking a two-set lead on a kill from Reece Cave.
Northern extended the match by scoring the final four points of the third set for a 25-23 victory, then took the fourth 25-18.
Carrier hit .293 to lead the Viking attack. Schumacher finished with 29 assists, 20 digs and three aces, while Bogenreif added 23 assists, 10 digs and seven kills.
Annika Pulju collected 27 digs, Molly Bjorneby added 20, and Cave finished with 12 as VCSU totaled 128 digs. Kocka, Cave and Bogenreif each served two aces.
Macy Uffelman led Northern with 14 kills and 24 digs. Kambria Maloy recorded a match-high 31 digs.
Providence 3, VCSU 1
Valley City State opened Friday's match with a strong offensive set, but Providence responded by winning the next three to claim a 22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-12 victory.
The Vikings recorded 18 kills in the opening set and hit .232. With VCSU leading 23-22, Bjorneby and Geist delivered consecutive kills to secure the early advantage.
Providence answered with 16 kills in the second set and hit .333 in the third before closing the match in four.
Bjorneby paced VCSU with 13 kills, while Geist added 11 on a .304 hitting percentage. Ellie Lucas finished with 10 kills and just two errors on 16 attempts, hitting .500.
Schumacher recorded 21 assists and 16 digs, while Bogenreif contributed 20 assists, 12 digs and seven kills. Pulju and Cave each collected 15 digs, and Kocka added 11.
The Vikings finished with 50 kills and 82 digs. Cabry Badley led Providence with 12 kills without an attack error, while Martyna Fiedler added 11.
UP NEXT
The Vikings head to Montana next weekend, facing Carroll College on Friday, Oct. 23, in Helena before taking on Rocky Mountain College on Saturday, Oct. 24, in Billings.
