SIOUX FALLS – Battling past a pesky University of Mary squad, University of Sioux Falls Volleyball fought to a 3-1 (25-11, 23-25, 26-24, 25-18) victory on Friday night. USF maintains its tie for eighth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings with a 6-4 record and their overall mark improves to 11-4.
 
The Cougars bookended the match with dominant offensive sets, hitting over .350 in both the first and fourth sets, which helped them to a .265 mark for the match. Lexi Scott had an efficient night from the middle, connecting on 10 kills while Averey Yaksich and Abby Feyereisen both committed just one attack error while putting down nine and six kills, respectively.
 
Feyereisen was part of a block combination with Bria Barfnecht that stuffed three straight U-Mary attacks in the fourth set, helping them to the victory. Barfnecht, who finished with nine kills and just two attack errors, led the Cougar defense with nine blocks and while Feyereisen had seven block assists and one of the three solo blocks by the Cougars.
 
On top of USF's stellar front-row defense, the Janelle Lam led a back row effort with 19 digs that helped limit the Marauders to a .136 attack percentage. Makenna Rockeman picked up 13 digs and earned a double-double with 12 kills.
 
While USF's offense was efficient in the first and fourth sets, U-Mary took advantage of the Cougars' offensive struggles to push the Cougars to the brink in the second and third frames. USF committed six attack errors and hit .175 or below in both sets, allowing the Marauders to take the second set. U-Mary's 17 kills in the second set and an efficient .286 hitting percentage helped them steal the second set 25-23, after USF ran away with the first set, 25-11.
 
The Cougars trailed again in the third set, hitting just .139 in the frame, but a late charge led by Lam's serving helped them take a 2-1 lead. Lam served USF to five straight points and a pair of Scott and Barfnecht blocks led the Cougars to an 11-5 run to finish the set, 26-24.
 
After building a sizeable lead in the fourth set, U-Mary fought back to draw within one of the Cougars. Up 19-18, Feyereisen connected on her sixth kill then combined with Barfnecht for three consecutive blocks to fuel their six-point match-clinching run for a 25-18 third-set win.
 
The Cougars return to action on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Stewart Center, hosting Minot State at 2 p.m.