VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSUVikings.com)- The Valley City State University volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit Friday night, winning the final two sets to defeat Dakota State University in a North Star conference match.

The Vikings won set one, 25-22, but Dakota State stormed back with 25-22 and 26-24 wins in sets two and three. VCSU took set four easily, 25-18, and then the teams went back-and-forth in set five. Dakota State held a 10-8 advantage before the Vikings rolled off four straight points for a 12-10 lead. The teams battled to a 13-13 tie before VCSU senior Autumn Johnson hammered home the final two points for a 15-13 Viking victory.

VCSU improves to 8-7 overall and is now 2-0 in the North Star Athletic Association. Dakota State drops to 5-7 overall and 0-2 in the NSAA.

Three Vikings totaled double-digit kills in the match, including 10 by Katie Juarez, 15 by Clarissa Olson and 11 by Johnson. None of Johnson’s kills were bigger than her final two of the match. Tied 13-13 in the final set, Johnson spiked a set from Leah Ruter down for a 14-13 lead and then on the next point killed a free ball into the corner for match point.

Johnson hit .231 in the match as part of a Viking attack that hit .134 as a team. Olson was dominant throughout the night as she hit a team-high .467 with just one attack error in 30 swings.

Leah Ruter totaled 28 assists, 13 digs and a team-high three aces. Reagan Ingstad had 17 assists and 12 digs, and libero Charlotte Huschkaposted 30 digs.

VCSU held a 15-7 advantage in blocking. Olson totaled five block points for VCSU, including three solo blocks. Johnson added 3.5 blocks and McKinley Putnam had 2.5.

Dakota State had three players reach double-digit kills, including 15 by Maddie Polzin. Barbara Briceno posted 13 kills and Sami Zeller added 10 kills. Trojan setter Nicole Sarringar tallied a match-high 41 assists. Both Briceno and Alwaise Villa racked up 23 digs in the loss.

Up next: Valley City State hosts No. 22-ranked Bellevue University on Saturday at 11 a.m. Dakota State plays at Dickinson State on Saturday.