Valley City, N.D. — Dickinson State opened its 2025 season with a 3-1 victory over Dakota Wesleyan in a neutral-site match Saturday, dropping the first set 25-22 before winning the next three, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-20.
Dickinson State finished with 60 kills on .180 hitting and added 10 aces, 10.0 total blocks and 83 digs. Dakota Wesleyan totaled 44 kills on .142 with five aces, 8.0 blocks and 72 digs.
Freshman pin hitter Cate Floy led the Blue Hawks with 16 kills and four total blocks. Senior pin hitter Makyah Albrecht added 14 kills and three total blocks. Junior pin hitter Aubrey Allison posted 10 kills and 17 digs, and senior middle blocker Samantha Oase finished with eight kills on .318 hitting. Sophomore middle blocker Carmen Pallone contributed eight kills, four service aces and five total blocks.
Junior setter Rylee Kogolshak directed the attack with 51 assists and added 12 digs, two aces and four kills. Senior defensive specialist Taylor Fischer collected 15 digs with one ace, and junior defensive specialist Ashtynn Egan anchored the back row with 21 digs and two aces. Junior defensive specialist Geraldyne Fernandez added 11 digs.
Dakota Wesleyan was led by Evy Knoblock with 12 kills, while Karly VanDerWerff had nine and Lily Ranschau eight. The Tigers finished with 44 assists and 72 digs.
After the opener was even at 20-20, Dakota Wesleyan closed on a 5-2 run to take the first set 25-22. In the second, Dickinson State created separation in the middle of the frame and closed on back-to-back kills from Allison and Albrecht to end it 25-20.
Set three featured six ties and two lead changes before Dickinson State finished strong. With the score tied at 22, Oase and Albrecht produced consecutive kills, and after a service error trimmed the lead to 24-23, Albrecht put down the winner for a 25-23 decision.
The fourth set was level at 20-20 after an Oase kill. The Blue Hawks then closed the match on a 5-0 run: Albrecht converted to make it 21-20, Egan followed with a service ace, Pallone and Allison added kills, and Pallone sealed it with a block for 25-20.
Head coach Stormy Siemion said the result was a strong step forward. "What a great way to start the season. We have some new faces this year and it was great to see this new team out on the floor together. We are excited to get back at it and head to Siouxland this next week."
Dickinson State improved its efficiency as the match progressed, posting 20 kills on .260 in the fourth set. The Blue Hawks also held set-by-set edges in aces and blocks, finishing with 10 aces and 10.0 total blocks to the Tigers' five aces and 8.0 blocks.
With the win, Dickinson State moves to 1-0 and will compete at the Siouxland Invitational next weekend.
