SIOUX FALLS – Giving the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II a difficult test, University Sioux Falls Volleyball battled No. 1 Southwest Minnesota State but ultimately fell short, 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 28-26, 25-16), on Tuesday night. The Cougars suffer their second loss of the season, falling to 6-2 on the year with a 1-2 mark in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition.
For the first time in their six-year NCAA Division II membership, USF Volleyball received multiple votes in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll after knocking off then-No. 9 Augustana on Saturday. Three days later they looked to pick off top-ranked SMSU and they nearly took a 2-1 lead before falling in four sets.
The Cougar offense struggled, hitting .137 on 124 total attack attempts, dipping below .200 for the first time all season.
Makenna Rockeman led the Cougars with 10 kills while
Averey Yaksich and
Lexi Scott both put down eight kills.
Janelle Lam had some terrific digs in the back row for the Cougars finishing with a match-high 16 pickups against one of the top offenses in Division II.
Southwest Minnesota State (11-0, 3-0 NSIC) methodically won the first set, hitting .389 at the net to lead them to a 25-16 victory. Turning the tides to start the second set, USF raced out to an 11-5 lead by forcing seven SMSU errors and adding kills from Rockeman, Yaksich and Scott. The Cougars nursed their lead and Yaksich carried the Cougars home with three late kills for a 25-21 set win to even the match.
The Cougars continued to roll to open the third set, countering any SMSU run with a burst of their own. After building a 14-9 lead behind a balanced attack, the Mustangs roared back to tie the score at 15-15. It was neck-and-neck for the remainder of the set with neither team holding a lead larger than one point.
SMSU had the first chance to win the third set, but a service error tied it again at 24-all. A kill from Taylor Reiss, who finished with a match-high 22 terminations, gave them another set point, but Yaksich and Scott responded with consecutive kills to give the Cougars their first set point opportunity. A service error ended USF's chance for a 2-1 lead and the Mustangs pounced at the opening and connected on two more kills, seizing the momentum with a 28-26 third-set win.
Deflated from nearly holding a lead in the match, the Cougar offense slowed and recorded just four kills in the final frame. Southwest Minnesota State capitalized on their opportunity with USF struggling to terminate and they rolled to a 25-16 win to finish the match.
USF heads out on their first weekend road trip of the season, traveling to face Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State on Friday, Sept. 22 and Saturday, Sept. 23, respectively.
