SIOUX FALLS – Going toe-to-toe with league favorite and national No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 26-24) decision to the Golden Bears on Friday night. The Cougars fall to 13-6 on the season with an 8-6 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Makenna Rockeman paced the Cougar offense with 14 kills and a .225 attack percentage, but it was Concordia-St. Paul's balanced and efficient attack that doomed USF. Three CSP hitters connected on double-digit kills and they posted a. 308 attack percentage as a team.
USF stayed in several points with the help of back row specialists
Janelle Lam and
Eliza Dahly. Lam led the Cougars with 10 digs, which kept her streak of consecutive matches with double-digit digs alive and accomplishing that feat in eat match this season. Dahly, a freshman defensive specialist, tied her career best with nine digs and added an ace and two assists for the match.
At the net,
Abby Feyereisen led the Cougars' blocking defense with five total blocks, including a big solo stuff in the fourth set. USF held a 10-8 advantage over Concordia-St. Paul in blocks with Rockeman and
Bria Barfnecht each adding solo blocks.
Concordia-St. Paul broke open the first set with a late 9-2 run. USF responded by winning four consecutive points, but it was too late and the Golden Bears held on for a 25-20 victory.
Led by Rockeman's seven kills in the second set, USF continued to push Concordia-St. Paul to the brink. The Cougars reeled off a five-point spree early in the frame before CSP slowly erased their deficit to take a four-point led. USF responded with four consecutive points and tied the Golden Bears twice more, but CSP finished with two straight kills for a 25-23 victory.
The third set was a series of runs between both teams before CSP pushed forward the final time for the clinching victory. USF had five different 4-0 or 4-1 runs in the set, but Concordia-St. Paul answered each time. USF trailed 20-16 before winning seven of the next nine points for a 23-22 lead. After dropping two points, USF staved off the first match point with Rockeman's 14th kill, but back-to-back terminations ended the match, 26-24, in favor of CSP.
