SIOUX FALLS, S.D. –  The Tommies made a statement last week, taking down the nation's only undefeated team. While South Dakota State (23-1, 12-1 SL) retains its hold on the top spot in the Summit League standings, Omaha (13-11, 11-2 SL) has closed the gap with a victory over Oral Roberts. The Jackrabbits, Mavericks, and Coyotes have all secured their spots in the Summit League Volleyball Tournament in Kansas City. However, with St. Thomas (16-10, 8-6 SL) ineligible for postseason play, the remaining three spots are still up for grabs.

Denver (11-13, 6-8 SL) and North Dakota State (10-13, 6-8 SL) are currently in a strong position to claim the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, holding a 2.5-game lead over the rest of the field. But with three games left, there’s still plenty of room for movement. Kansas City (5-19, 3-10 SL) earned a crucial win over Denver last week and now faces the Fighting Hawks, Bison, and Mavericks in its final three games.

North Dakota (9-15, 2-11 SL) also picked up an important win over Oral Roberts last week, moving ahead of the Golden Eagles in the standings. The Fighting Hawks will face the Roos, Jackrabbits, and Bison to close out their conference schedule. Meanwhile, Oral Roberts (4-22, 2-11 SL) remains in the hunt for a berth in the Summit League Tournament, with critical matchups against the Jackrabbits, Tommies, and Pioneers remaining.

As the regular season winds down, this week of competition will answer many of the remaining questions about who will be competing in the Summit League Tournament. All the action kicks off Thursday at 7 p.m. CT on the Summit League Network.
 
 
This Week In The Summit League (All Times Local To Site)
Thursday, Nov. 14 | TV/Stream                                             Local Time
South Dakota at St. Thomas| SLN                                          7 p.m.
Kansas City at North Dakota | SLN                                        7 p.m.
Oral Roberts at South Dakota State | SLN                             7 p.m.
Denver at Omaha | SLN                                                         8 p.m.
 
Saturday, Nov. 16 | TV/Stream
South Dakota State at North Dakota | SLN                           11 a.m.
Oral Roberts at St. Thomas | SLN                                          1 p.m.
South Dakota at Omaha | SLN                                                7 p.m.
Kansas City at North Dakota State |SLN                                 7 p.m.
 
Tuesday, Nov. 19 | TV/Stream
North Dakota at North Dakota State| SLN                            7 p.m.
South Dakota State at South Dakota | SLN                          7 p.m.
Omaha at Kansas City | SLN                                                 7 p.m.
Denver at Oral Roberts | SLN                                                7 p.m.
 
Key:   SLN (Summit League Network)

Around The League
• St. Thomas was the only team to win both of their matches last week after defeating the only undefeated team in Division I, South Dakota State.  South Dakota, Omaha, South Dakota State, North Dakota, Kansas City, and Denver each won a single match. 
• SDSU setter Rylee Martin passed the 1,000-career assist barrier in a 3-0 win against North Dakota State. 
• Omaha’s Amanda Hardt delivered her most impressive offensive performance of the season totaling 17 kills as the Mavericks swept Oral Roberts. 
• Omaha has climbed to the top of the Summit standings for conference play in points per set, opponent hitting percentage, hitting percentage, opponent kills per set, blocks per set, and opponent service aces. 
• South Dakota beat North Dakota State with strong efforts from outside hitters Lauren Medeck and Kylen Sealock. Both Coyotes garnered 15 kills in the four-set victory. Avery Van Hook also notched her 15th double-double of the season with 46 assists and 18 digs. 
• St. Thomas took down the previously undefeated Jackrabbits with a well-balanced attack with four Tommies producing double-digit kills. Lauren Galvin led the attack with 16 kills, Morgan Kealy contributed 12 kills, Tezra Rudzitas added 11 kills, and Megan Wetter notched 10 kills. 
• Denver outside hitter Cassie Davis garnered 30 kills on a week that saw the Pioneers go 1-1. Davis currently sits among the league’s top 10 in hitting percentage, kills, kills per set, total service aces, service aces per set, points, and points per set.
• NDSU’s Logan O’Brien recorded back-to-back games with double-digit digs. The Bison senior leads the Summit League with 250 total digs through conference play.
• Kansas City upset Denver on the road behind a strong offensive performance from Kaia Dunford. The Roos’ graduate senior produced 21 kills on a .409 hitting percentage.
• North Dakota hit a team-high .297 in Saturday’s win over Oral Roberts. This marks the third-highest hitting percentage of the season and the highest attack clip ever in a Summit League match.
• Oral Roberts senior Trinity Freeman etched her name in the Summit League record book for career total attacks after a week that saw her attack 61 times bringing her career total to 3818 attacks.

Results
Thursday, Nov. 7
South Dakota 3, North Dakota State 1
St. Thomas 3, South Dakota State 2
Kansas City 3, Denver 1
North Dakota 3, Oral Roberts 0
 
Saturday, Nov. 9
Denver 3, North Dakota 1
South Dakota State 3, North Dakota State 0
St. Thomas 3, Kansas City 0
 
Sunday, Nov. 10
Omaha 3, Oral Roberts 0

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