SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – There isn’t much time left until the journey for the 2021 Summit League Volleyball Championship trophy begins. Who will make that journey in three weeks?
 
With three weeks left in the regular season, there is plenty of time for movement within the standings. Six of our ten-member teams will take the court Thursday as the fight for a spot at the tournament continues. The first serve of the week goes up at 7 p.m. CT.
 
Around The Summit League | All Match Times Central
Thursday, November 4
South Dakota at Western Illinois | 7 p.m.
North Dakota State at Omaha | 7 p.m.
North Dakota at Denver | 8 p.m.
 
Friday, November 5
South Dakota State at St. Thomas | 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, November 6
North Dakota at Omaha | 12 p.m.
Kansas City at Oral Roberts | 1 p.m.
North Dakota State at Denver | 2 p.m.
South Dakota at St. Thomas | 3 p.m.
 
Sunday, November 7
South Dakota State at Western Illinois | 11 a.m.

Around The League

• Omaha now holds an 11-1 record in league play after defeating Denver on the road in a five-set thriller.
• McKenna Ruch paced the team with a season-high 18 kills while hitting an impressive .625 clip. She provided the team with 24 points throughout the match while tallying three service aces in the five sets.
• Rylee Marshall was a dominant force at the net for the Mavericks. She led the team in blocks with seven and notched 15 points on the day.
• South Dakota earned a pair of four-set wins over Kansas City and Oral Roberts to move to 10-2 in league play. Elizabeth Juhnke posted a pair of double-doubles in the wins. She finished with 16 kills and 12 digs to go with three blocks in the win over KC. Against ORU, she notched a four-set season-high with 22 kills and hit .405 in the match. She also recorded 15 digs and four blocks.
• Defensively, Lolo Weideman totaled 45 digs (5.62 digs per set) for the Coyotes in the two matches. She had a four-set career-high 29 digs to go with two assists and two aces against Kansas City.
• South Dakota State moved to 6-6 in league play after defeating Oral Roberts (3-2) and Kansas City (3-1). Crystal Burk led the Jacks in the two matches with 37 kills (4.11 per set), 31 digs (3.44 digs per set) and a pair of service aces. Against ORU she finished with 18 kills and 14 digs then followed that up with a 19-kill, 17-dig performance for her 11th and 12th double-doubles of the season.
• North Dakota State went 2-0 over the week defeating St. Thomas (3-0) and Western Illinois (3-1). Reilly Raegen passed out a team-high 83 total assists (11.86 assists per set) as well as contributed 18 digs (2.57 digs per set) in the two matches. Against WIU, she posted her fifth double-double of the season with a career-high 59 assists to go along with 11 digs.
• Ali Hinze contributed to the efforts tallying 23 digs (3.29 digs per set), five blocks (0.71 blocks per set) and connected on 28 total kills (4.00 kills per set). In the win over WIU, she registered her 13th double-double of the season with 19 kills and 14 digs.
• Western Illinois picked up its third league victory of the season after defeating North Dakota in five sets. Four Leathernecks finished with double-digit kill efforts led by Kennedy Davis’ 17 kills. Following Kennedy’s efforts were Aubrey Putman (12), Peyton Bowman (10) and Brittany Wulf (10).
• Defensively, four Leathernecks notched double-digit dig efforts. Maggie Craker paced the pack finishing with 33 digs on the day. Karli Wenzel had 27 digs while Aubrey Putman and Erika Moore finished with 22 and 14, respectively.
• St. Thomas snapped a nine-match losing streak with a four-set road defeat of North Dakota. Freshman Lauren Galvin led the way with 20 kills and nine digs against the Fighting Hawks.
• On the defensive end for the Tommies, Carrie Rutledge led the team with 20 digs and a service ace against the Fighting Hawks.
• Denver went 1-1 on the week falling to Omaha in five and defeating Oral Roberts in three. Against ORU, Lydia Bartalo finished with a season-high 19 kills and 12 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Hailey Green contributed to the offensive effort with 11 kills and a .400 hitting percentage while Ari Winters chipped in 10 kills of her own.
• Ellie Anderson and Lorrin Poulters paced the offense finishing with 21 and 24 assists, respectively, while Gianna Bartalo held the defensive line with 12 digs.
• Kansas City, North Dakota and Oral Roberts team went without a win this week.
• Kansas City took a set from South Dakota and a set from South Dakota State.
• The Golden Eagles took two sets from South Dakota State as well as a set from South Dakota during the week.