BROOKINGS South Dakota State will play in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament for the second time in the Division I era on Friday and the first time since 2007.
SDSU (27-2) will be taking on No. 8 seeded Miami in the first round on Friday in Lincoln, Neb., after the Jackrabbits received an at-large bid to the tournament on Sunday.
The Jacks, who started the season with 21-straight wins, fell to South Dakota in five sets in the Summit League Tournament championship last week and the Coyotes received the conferences automatic bid to the tournament. That set up a long five-day wait for SDSU players and coaches to see if they would make it.
When selection Sunday rolled around the Jacks were one of the last teams to see their name on the screen, which resulted in jubilation in the team lounge where they were watching the selection show. Junior middle blocker Sydni Schetnan always believed that the Jacks would receive a tournament bid.
After the loss to USD I immediately thought about Sunday night. The only thing that I could think about was that we were going to get in. There was no doubt in my mind. I know there were a bunch of people on X that were saying that there were so many different ways that Sunday could go, but in my mind, I had no doubt, Schetnan said.
2007 was the second year of Division I postseason eligibility for the Jacks. That year SDSU won its conference tournament and didnt have to rely on the tournament committee deciding its fate. Sophomore outside hitter Sylvie Zgonc said receiving an at-large bid not only solidifies what the Jacks have accomplished so far this season, but could be even more of an accomplishment than getting an automatic bid.
Its unreal and Ive been thinking about it a lot since yesterday, she said. Obviously it sucked to lose to USD in the tournament final, but earning an at-large bid might arguably be better because it just really encloses everything that weve done so far this season and that our season didnt just come down to that one match.
SDSU went 9-20 overall and 7-9 in the Summit League last season. It was a disappointing season for the program after the Jacks had gone over .500 in both of the previous two seasons.
Coming into this year SDSU was picked to finish sixth in the Summit League. Fifth-year head coach Dan Georgalas was excited about his team coming into the season but he never thought the Jacks would only lose two matches and receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Ive been using the term special sauce for a long time, Georgalas said. I dont know what it is but we kept grinding out win after win after win, and to go from nine wins last year to 27 wins this season, I dont know what to attribute that to other than an absolute perfect combination of personalities and coaches and student athletes.
We were confident we were going to have a good year and bounce back in a strong way. I would be naive to say this hasnt exceeded my expectations this year and Im just so grateful that our student athletes get an amazing student-athlete experience in the national tournament.
The Jacks had just seven returners heading into the 2024 season as seven players transferred after last year. They added five transfers in the offseason to go along with three incoming freshmen to fill out the roster. Zgonc and Schetnan stuck around after last season and Schetnan said one of the biggest differences from this season to last season has been how much everyone feeds off of each other.
Id have to say the biggest difference is the different personalities we have on this team. Being able to have people settle into their roles that they are given, not chosen, has been a really big aspect of the success of this team. Just getting basically an entire new team was kind of concerning for us, but I feel like those that we have brought on have really bought into what weve built here, Schetnan said.
Both Zgonc and Schetnans play has played a big part in the Jacks turnaround as well. Zgonc won the Summit League Player of the Year this season after recording 485 kills, 295 digs, 45 blocks and 26 service aces. The 485 kills rank 22nd in the country and her 4.41 kills per set are 25th in Division I.
Schetnan had a bounce back season after transferring in from Louisville before last year. She had 275 kills this year and a Summit League-leading 141 blocks. The 141 total blocks were also tied for 31st in the country and she had a hitting percentage of .394, which is 25th in the country.
Miami comes into Fridays matchup with a record of 21-10. The Hurricanes went 12-8 in the ACC and finished in eighth in the conference. They received 40 votes in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll, which was two spots outside of the Top 25.
Miami beat Texas in five sets on Sept. 7 and the Longhorns were ranked No. 1 in the country at the time. Miamis other ranked wins included No. 5 Stanford, No. 15 Georgia Tech and No. 25 Arkansas.
The Hurricanes are led by junior outside hitter Flormarie Heredia Colon and sophomore outside hitter Grace Lopez. Heredia Colon led the ACC in kills with 490 and Lopez was sixth in the conference with 400.
Georgalas said when hes watched the Hurricanes they remind him of the Brazilian Junior National Team that the Jacks played during their trip to Brazil in the summer.
Theyre talented, Georgalas said. You try to make comparisons to who weve played earlier in the season and the best we could come up with was that they look a heck of a lot like the Brazilian U19 Junior National Team that we played this past summer. Theyre really talented and have two really special players on the left and on the right side.
They have enormous wins on their schedule. They beat No. 1 Texas down in Austin and went through an absolute gauntlet of an ACC schedule. Weve watched some stuff on them and think there are some matchup things that will benefit us, so by no means is our program scared. Were going down to Lincoln to win a game.
The goal for every mid-major volleyball team at the beginning of the season is to get to the NCAA Tournament. Now that the Jacks have achieved that goal, its time to shift their attention to winning a tournament game. Georgalas said his team isnt going to just be happy with making the tournament.
The consistent message for our group all season has been to play with a chip on our shoulder and with something to prove. I think our team really embraced that. Were going to go down to Lincoln with that type of mentality. Were not here for participation trophies. Were excited that we got an at-large bid and get to call ourselves national qualifiers, but were going down there to put out a strong competitive effort and were going to give it our best effort and try to get a victory, Georgalas said.
The other matchup in Lincoln on Friday will be No. 1 seeded Nebraska and Florida A&M. The two matches will be played at the Bob Devaney Sports Center and its likely to be sold out as the Cornhuskers have a rich tradition in volleyball.
First serve between the Jacks and Hurricanes is set for 4:30 p.m. You can watch the game on ESPN+. The winners of Fridays matches will play on Saturday at 7 p.m.
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