Johnson, Goedken Post Double-Doubles in USF Volleyball's 3-1 Loss to Bellevue

The University of Sioux Falls women's volleyball team fell to Bellevue University (#16 NAIA Top-25), 3-1, at Gordon Lozier Athletic Center on the campus of Bellevue University Saturday morning.

With the loss, USF drops to 3-13 on the season while Bellevue improves to 15-4.

Freshman outside hitter Emily Johnson (Platte) posted a team-best 17 skills, which tied her season high, and dug out 12 Bruins shots. Junior outside hitter Chanda Goedken (Farley, Iowa) also notched a double-double, racking up 11 kills and 11 digs.

Senior middle blocker Alyssa Chambers (Sioux Falls/Roosevelt) notched six kills to go along with five block assists. Junior Sarah Kohler (Sioux Falls/Lincoln) had her best defensive match of the season, putting up six block assists and three kills.

Sophomore libero Tashayla Person (Shawnee, Kan.) recorded 18 digs and a service ace.

USF fell behind 2-0 in the match, dropping the first set, 25-16, and the second by a score of 25-20. The Cougars regrouped and took the third set, 26-24, behind 16 of freshman setter Charlee Nelson's (Mitchell) team-leading 39 assists.

The Cougars out-hit the Bruins .333-.116 in the third frame.

Bellevue closed out the match with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set.
The Bruins outhit the Cougars in the match by a .178 to .147 margin. Both teams posted nine total blocks.

The Cougars will wrap up play at the Bruin/Premier Classic with an afternoon match against Grand View University.


Cougar Errors Prove Costly in 3-0 Loss to Grand View

USF volleyball suffered its fourteenth defeat of the season, getting swept by Grand View 25-19, 25-18, 25-14 in the final match of the 2011 Bruin/Premier Classic, hosted by Bellevue University.

The win pushed the Vikings' overall record to 17-5, while the Cougars fell to 3-14 on the season.

No USF player had more than eight kills and as a team, the Cougars managed to hit only -.010. The normally outstanding blocking presence provided by USF's middles was nullified by Grand View's hitters. In fact, the Vikings held an 11-7 advantage in total team blocks.

Set one went back and forth with five ties in the first thirty points. But, with the score knotted at 15-15, the Vikings went on a 10-4 run fueled in part by six Cougar errors to close out the set.

In the second frame, the Cougars grabbed a quick 3-0 lead but three Viking kills and a pair of USF errors put Grand View ahead, 5-3. USF responded with two straight points to even the score at 5-5. The teams traded points until the 9-9 mark, when back-to-back USF miscues and two Viking kills gave Grand View a 13-9 advantage and forced a Cougars timeout.

The Cougars battled the next four points and narrowed the Vikings' lead to 14-12, but Grand View finished on an 11-6 tear to take the second set 25-18.

Five USF errors in the first eight points sealed the Cougars' fate. Grand View jumped to a 10-6 lead and never looked back, leading by as many as eight points en route to a 25-14 third set win and match victory.

Freshman Emily Johnson (Platte) recorded eight kills and five digs while Chanda Goedken (Farley, Iowa) added six kills and 12 digs. Sarah Kohler (Sioux Falls/Lincoln) added six kills.

Team captain Alyssa Chambers (Sioux Falls/Roosevelt) tallied three kills and three block assists in the loss. Charlee Nelson (Mitchell) dished 20 assists and Tashayla Person (Shawnee, Kan.) had nine digs.

The Cougars wrap up their lengthy 14-game road trip on Tuesday, when they travel to Crookston, Minn. to face the Golden Eagles in a 7:00 p.m. tilt. USF will host Dakota Wesleyan on Sept. 29 (7:00 p.m.), the Cougars' first home match since Sept. 3.