RAPID CITY, S.D. — Wayne State used 11 kills each from juniors Tarrin Beller and Katie Stephens to post a 25-19, 25-13, 25-12 non-conference win Tuesday at South Dakota School of Mines. volleyball sweep Tuesday evening at South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City, S.D.
The Wildcats never trailed in the first set. Beller had four kills, two blocks and a service ace to get the Wildcats off to a good start. WSC hit just .176 in the opening set with 11 kills and five errors while forcing the Hardrockers into seven attack errors.
Wayne State got rolling in the second set, recording 17 kills and a .405 attack percentage, to take the 2-0 advantage. Morgan Alexander served five straight points followed by a kill and two straight aces from Alyssa Ballenger to give WSC a 13-6 lead, and Ballenger closed the set with another service ace. Stephens and Jaci Brahmer each produced four kills in the set for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats continued their strong play in the final set, holding South Dakota Mines to a .000 attack percentage with six kills and six errors. Wayne State’s first three points of the set were on kills from Beller, and they built a 10-3 lead as all 14 players saw action for the Wildcats.
Wayne State had a .284 attack percentage on 43 kills, 12 errors and 109 attacks. South Dakota School of Mines was held to a .090 attack percentage with 26 kills, 17 errors and 100 attacks. Wayne State held a 6-4 edge in blocks and had seven service aces to just two for the Hardrockers.
Beller and Stephens each had 11 kills to lead Wayne State. Beller hit .600 for the match with just one error on 16 attacks. Ballenger finished with a team-high 13 digs and recorded three of Wayne State’s seven aces. Haley Kauth added 11 digs while Brahmer and Ballenger each had four blocks. Megan Gebhardt was credited with 34 set assists.
Wayne State (20-6) reached the 20-win plateau for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons with Tuesday’s win. The Wildcats return to Northern Sun Conference play this weekend, hosting Winona State Friday night at 6 p.m. and Upper Iowa Saturday at 4 p.m. in the final home games of the regular season for the Wildcats.
