MARSHALL, Minn. – In their third trip to the NSIC Tournament, No. 7 seed University of Sioux Falls Volleyball squared off with second-seeded and fourth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State but came up short, falling 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-17) in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday night. The Cougars finish the season with a 19-10 overall, setting the program record for most Division II wins in a season.
 
Sophomores Makenna Rockeman and Bria Barfnecht led the Cougars, hitting 12 and 10 kills, respectively in a sluggish offensive night for Sioux Falls. The program's all-time leader in digs, Abby Folk posted 15 more in her final match as a Cougar, leading both teams on the night.
 
Sioux Falls posted a .171 attack percentage as a team, connecting on 29 kills out of 82 total attempts, but committed 15 hitting errors. NSIC offensive player of the year Taylor Reiss posted a match-high 16 kills for Southwest Minnesota State (25-4) and Kaylee Burmeister added 12 to lead the Mustangs to a .352 attack percentage.
 
The first two sets spelled the same fate for the Cougars: a comeback from an early deficit before a late Southwest Minnesota State handed USF a 25-20 loss. Rockeman and Barfnecht led USF's first charge in the first set, erasing a three-point deficit with a two kills apiece, but SMSU countered to build another three-point advantage. Rockeman turned the tides with four kills in a seven-point span and tied the score at 20-20. Despite the late charge, Southwest Minnesota State regained control with a Reiss kill and tacked on four more to win the first set 25-20.
 
Down four points, Sioux Falls tied the second set at 9-9 with a Janelle Lam service ace preceding a Jordan Calef and Rockeman block. The teams traded points for the next portion of the set as Calef, Barfnecht and Rockenman each recorded a kill to keep the Cougars within one point after each SMSU burst. Rockeman's kill brought the score to 20-19, but SMSU again closed on big run, winning five of the final six points for their second straight 25-20 win.
 
Sioux Falls posted their highest attack percentage of the match in the third set, hitting .304 with 10 kills to just three errors. However, Southwest Minnesota State connected on 16 kills at a .500 clip to run away with the match-clinching third set. Two multi-point runs put the Mustangs up seven points early before the Cougars began to claw their way back. Lexi Scott posted a kill to trim their deficit and Rockeman added two more, but USF couldn't get closer than six points.
 
A Rockeman kill and Kelli Holloway ace preceded SMSU's four-point run that pushed their lead to double digits at 23-13. Rockeman posted her final kill to stop the Mustang burst and USF won four of the next five points, but the hole was too deep as SMSU won the final set 25-17.