Volleyball trying to eliminate errors for postseason

By Nathan Ellenbecker and Alanna Schmeichel

With less than a month until the Summit League Tournament, the University of South Dakota women’s volleyball team is trying to eliminate their simplest mistakes.

But after a 25-error performance Sunday, the Coyotes (14-9, 8-2) have a sour taste in their mouth, said head coach Leanne Williamson.

“We killed the ball a lot of times, but we also had a lot of errors,” Williamson said. “It’s on us, but it’s a positive going into this week that we’re in control of it, but we have to hone it to make sure we are limiting those errors.”

The team did sweep their match against the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the DakotaDome Sunday 25-22, 25-23, 25-20, but players know they have room to work.

“We needed to work on those errors, but luckily our serve and attack were there, which helped,” junior outside hitter Sydney Dimke said. “But 25 errors are not good, especially for a three-setter.”

The Coyotes attacked to start the match, jumping to a 5-0 lead in the first set. The team kept that five-point lead and never trailed before Firtko sealed the set with a block to win 25-22.

The second set was very different. The Mavericks jumped ahead behind impressive defense and setting up blocks to counteract the Coyote offense.

“Omaha is a scrappy team,” Williamson said. “They are a great defensive team, and we knew that coming in. We kind of prepared for that.”

The Coyotes finally tied it up 20-20 in the second set. Then Firtko ended the set again, but with a kill instead.

The offense was equally distributed in the afternoon match. Kritenbrink led the team with 13 kills, and junior Dimke added nine kills of her own. Jessen also posed as a threat with seven kills on the night.

“Even if the balls I put over don’t go down then it makes the opposing team’s blockers worry more about me and we can open our seams for the outside,” Jessen said.

Dimke made her presence felt in the third set, where she helped seal the victory.

“Whenever us as hitters are struggling, it’s nice to know that it doesn’t always have to be on us,” Dimke said. “We can still find a way to score with Brittany. I think a lot of teams don’t expect that from a freshman setter.”

Meanwhile, the defensive game was strong as well. Firtko ended the night with seven blocks. Senior Riley Haug and sophomore Audrey Reeg added to the defense with 18 and 12 digs. Kritenbrink also had 11 digs on the night.

Still, it wasn’t all perfect for the Coyotes. Kritenbrink, normally the team’s dominant front row force, was visibly frustrated at multiple points in the match following her hits being blocked.

The Coyotes know the attention to detail they need for the postseason, according to their coach. Last year’s conference tournament ended up a nightmare after the team lost in the semifinal to Denver. The team led that match 2-0.

The focus is on making every set a well-executed one, Williamson said.

“We were a little disappointed in the first two with how we executed throughout the game, but obviously getting a win out of it is the positive side of things,” Williamson said. “We’ve still got some things to work on.”

One spark plug USD has turned to this year is first-year setter Brittany Jessen. Coming into the season, most talk surrounded the performances of senior Kendall Kritenbrink, Riley Haug and Melissa Firtko, but Jessen has turned into one of the Coyotes’ most consistent players.

“She has confidence,” Dimke said about her teammate. “She runs the team. She’s a leader out there. We all listen to her, and she’s also good at taking feedback.”

Jessen ended Sunday’s match with seven kills — a dynamic both Williamson and Dimke see as a key moving forward.

“Our back row is setting me up to keep our offense going,” Jessen said. “I have to look for my opportunities, too.”

The road to the Summit League championships continues Friday at home for USD. The team will host Fort Wayne (10-15, 4-6) with the first serve coming at 7 p.m.

(Photo: Senior Kendall Kritenbrink spikes the ball in the DakotaDome during the Oct. 26 game against Omaha. The Coyotes won 3-0 to advance their record to 14-9. Malachi Petersen / The Volante)