Box Score SIOUX FALLS—Led by senior right side hitter
Bria Barfnecht's double-double of 19 kills and 15 digs, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team (9-6, 4-3 NSIC) defeated Minnesota State (10-5, 3-4 NSIC), 3-1(24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 25-20) in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action.
Bouncing back from their loss to No.2 Concordia-St.Paul on Friday, USF stormed passed the Minnesota State Mavericks in four sets. Barnecht paced the Cougar offense with 19 total kills on 32 attempts with two errors for a .500 hitting percentage. Senior
Lexi Scott added 13 kills on 29 attempts with four errors for a hitting percentage of .310. Sophomore setter
Krista Goerger led both teams with 56 assists.
USF added a strong defensive performance to their offensive efficiency. As a team, the Cougars totaled 10 blocks on the match highlighted by Scott, who rejected the Mavericks three times.
The Cougars seemed to have control of the first set, jumping out to a 20-16 lead late in the set. The Mavericks came back and scored five of six points to tie the set up 21-21. After a kill by Scott, the Cougars went up 24-23, but the Mavericks scored the final three points of the set to win, 26-24. USF had a .244 hitting percentage in the first set.
The second set started with USF down 11-6 early, but the Cougars would take full control of the set after scoring six straight points to gain a 14-12 advantage, highlighted by a block by a block by
Abby Feyereisen. USF's defense took over late in the set, forcing the Minnesota State offense to commit two crucial errors to gain a 24-21 late in the set. USF held off the Maverick's late set push to take the set 25-23. As a team, the Cougars finished the second set with a .379 hitting percentage.
The third set didn't have a clear leader until USF took a 23-18 lead behind a kill from Avery Yaksich to give the Cougars a late advantage. Both teams split the last four points and the Cougars finished with a 25-20 victory. The third set had the Cougars hitting at a .357 percentage.
The fourth set started with Minnesota State jumping out to a four point lead. The Cougars rallied back by rattling off nine straight points behind four kills by Barfnecht. The Mavericks scored the next two points, but USF would go on another run of five points to take full control of the set. Scott finished off the fourth set with a kill and USF took the set, 25-20. The Cougars had a .235 hitting percentage while holding the Mavericks to a .030 hitting percentage.
As a team, the Cougars posted a solid .300 hitting percentage after totaling 64 kills throughout the match.
USF will next travel to Bemidji State (5-10, 2-5 NSIC) on Friday, Sept. 28 for a 6 pm match start time.
