SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — As the Summit League season heats up, South Dakota State remains the team to beat, riding a perfect 7-0 conference record. The Jackrabbits look to extend their unbeaten streak this week with matchups against North Dakota and Oral Roberts, before facing a red-hot Denver squad on Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, there’s a tight battle for second place in the league standings, with North Dakota State, St. Thomas, and Denver all knotted up at two losses apiece.
Denver opens a pivotal week by hosting the Tommies tonight, followed by a Thursday showdown with South Dakota and a highly anticipated Saturday night clash with the Jackrabbits.
St. Thomas enters the week riding high after a 2-0 stretch and currently leads the Summit League in total points, points per set, total assists, assists per set, kills per set, service aces, and aces per set. The Tommies travel to Denver tonight, then head to Omaha for a Thursday night match with the Mavericks.
North Dakota State, coming off back-to-back losses, will look to bounce back with two critical matchups: against South Dakota tonight and Kansas City on Saturday.
South Dakota has found its rhythm, winning three of its last four league matches. The Coyotes, who top the conference in both digs per set (15.61) and total digs (437), face a challenging slate this week: NDSU tonight, Denver on Thursday, and a Saturday rematch with North Dakota.
Omaha hits the road to face Kansas City on Tuesday, then returns home to host St. Thomas on Thursday and Oral Roberts on Saturday.
North Dakota opens the week with two home matches: tonight vs. SDSU and Thursday vs. Kansas City, before traveling to Vermillion to take on the Coyotes on Saturday.
Kansas City, fresh off its second conference win of the season, will host Omaha tonight before heading north for a road trip against North Dakota and NDSU.
Oral Roberts has a bye tonight but will have their hands full later in the week with matches against the undefeated Jackrabbits on Thursday and Omaha on Saturday.
Week five of Summit League play promises plenty of action, beginning with four exciting matchups on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT, all streaming live on the Summit League Network.
This Week In The Summit League (All Times Local To Site)
Tuesday, Oct. 21| TV/Stream
South Dakota State at North Dakota | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
South Dakota at North Dakota State | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Omaha at Kansas City | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at Denver | SLN | 6 p.m. MT
Thursday, Oct. 23 | TV/Stream
St. Thomas at Omaha | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Denver at South Dakota | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Oral Roberts at South Dakota State | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Kansas City at North Dakota | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, Oct. 25 | TV/Stream
Oral Roberts at Omaha | SLN | 12 p.m. CT
Kansas City at North Dakota State | SLN | 1 p.m. CT
North Dakota at South Dakota | SLN | 5 p.m. CT
Denver at South Dakota State | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Thursday, Oct. 30 | TV/Stream
South Dakota at St. Thomas | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
South Dakota State at Omaha | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
North Dakota at Oral Roberts | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
North Dakota State at Denver | SLN | 6 p.m. MT
Saturday, Nov. 1 | TV/Stream
North Dakota at Denver | SLN | 11 a.m. MT
North Dakota State at Oral Roberts | SLN | 12 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at Kansas City | SLN | 1 p.m. CT
South Dakota at South Dakota State | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Key: SLN (Summit League Network)
Around The League
• South Dakota State took sole possession of first place in the league standings after a 2-0 week that saw the Jacks post victories against North Dakota State and South Dakota.
• The Jacks set a program record for a four-set match with 17 blocks in the win over the Coyotes.
• SDSU is rated 25th in the latest RPI rankings and is the No. 2 non-Power 4 conference team behind No. 10 Creighton.
• Denver has four players averaging 2.00 kills per set or more: Ava Reynolds, Genevieve Lewis, Jamia Johnson, and Alicia Thibodeau.
• St. Thomas coach Thanh Pham recorded his 500th career victory with the Tommies thanks to Saturday’s 3-0 sweep of North Dakota State.
• The Pioneers, Tommies, and Bison all share second place in the standings with 5-2 records in Summit action.
• NDSU stays home this week for two matches against Kansas City and South Dakota. The Bison are 8-0 at home in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. NDSU has also won 10 straight on their home court dating back to last season, which is the longest streak in the Summit League and is tied for the ninth-longest among all NCAA Division I programs.
• South Dakota drew 2,408 fans for its showdown with the Jackrabbits, marking the fourth consecutive year the Coyotes have hosted a home match with attendance topping 2,000.
• USD’s Kamryn Farris notched her eighth match this season with 20 or more digs, recording 23 in the contest against the Jackrabbits.
• With 243 career victories, South Dakota head coach Leanne Williamson is just six wins shy of becoming the winningest coach in league history. Former Oral Roberts head coach Sheera Sirola holds the all-time record with 248 victories.
• Williamson is also six wins away from topping the list for most all-time Summit League wins. She enters this week with 141, which trails former IUPUI head coach Steve Payne (146) and Sirola (145).
• UND freshman setter Sadie White tallied 32 assists in the Fighting Hawks’ match against the Tommies, surpassing the 500-assist mark for the season.
• Omaha senior Kali Jurgensmeier matched her career high with two solo blocks against Denver, while also recording 15 kills to bring her career total to 886. She now needs to average 13 kills per match over the final nine contests to reach the 1,000-kill milestone.
• Kansas City notched its first sweep of the season against Oral Roberts. Four Roos hit above the .300 mark -- the first time this season that that many players reached that figure in a single match.
• Oral Roberts is one win away from 1,000 wins as a program.
Results
Wednesday, Oct. 15
South Dakota 3, Kansas City 1
Thursday, Oct. 16
St. Thomas 3, North Dakota 1
South Dakota State 3, North Dakota State 0
Omaha 3, Oral Roberts 0
Saturday, Oct. 18
St. Thomas 3, North Dakota State 0
Denver 3, Omaha 1
Kansas City 3, Oral Roberts 0
South Dakota State 3, South Dakota 1
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