Cougars Upended by No. 3 Bulldogs

The University of Sioux Falls volleyball team (8-5, 0-4 NSIC) dropped its conference home opener to the No. 3 University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-8) Friday night at the Stewart Center.

The Cougars dropped to 8-5 overall (0-4, NSIC) while the Bulldogs improved to 13-0 (5-0, NSIC).

USF looked sharpest in the early going when it got out to a quick 4-1 lead to begin the match behind kills from Sarah Kohler and Emily Johnson. But nine of the next 15 points belonged to UMD, which tied the set at 10. After the two squads traded the next two points, the visiting team gained some separation after a 3-0 run made the score 14-11 to force a USF timeout. Moments later, kills by Kohler and Alexa Reed got the Cougars back on track as they cut the lead to 16-14. UMD responded with a five-point spurt that included two kills by Bulldog Kate Lange, the current NCAA D-II kills leader, to take a commanding 21-14 lead. The Bulldogs would go on to take set one 25-18.

USF started fast with a 10-5 lead in the second set after a spike by Emily Johnson, but UMD came back with an 8-4 run to cut the Cougars' lead to 14-13. A Bulldog service error gave the Cougars a two-point edge at 15-13 but a Lange spike coupled with a USF attack error tied the set at 15 and forced a Cougar timeout. The squads split the next six points and with the set tied at 18-all, UMB ran off seven of the next 10 points to take control of the match with a 25-21 set victory.

UMD blitzed USF for a 10-1 lead to start the third frame and ended it with a 15-7 spurt to secure the sweep with a 25-8 third set victory.

USF posted a .076 hitting percentage with 27 kills against 20 hitting miscues.

The Bulldogs out-blocked the Cougars, 4-3.

USF was paced by Johnson's eight kills and seven digs. Chanda Goedken and Samantha Lovell tacked on four kills each, while Kohler chipped in three kills. Alexa Reed handed out 22 assists and tallied five digs. Kellee Griese recorded two kills and 10 scoops.

Lange racked up a match-high 17 kills on 25 swings (.600) for the Bulldogs.

The Cougars will host St. Cloud State University tomorrow at 4 p.m.

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