DULUTH, Minn. – The University of Sioux Falls Volleyball team delivered a statement performance Friday night, taking the first two sets from nationally ranked Minnesota Duluth before ultimately falling 3-2 (23-25, 15-25, 28-26, 25-16, 15-13) at Romano Gymnasium.

The Cougars now move to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in NSIC play.

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Match Summary

USF came out firing, hitting .441 in the opening set and .500 in set two to stun the Bulldogs and build a 2-0 lead.

The Cougars nearly sealed the sweep in a back-and-forth third frame but fell 28-26. From there, UMD used momentum to even the match in the fourth and edged out the fifth, 15-13, in front of 670 fans.

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Cougar Leaders

• Tatum Godinez powered the attack with 14 kills on an impressive .565 hitting percentage.

• Sadie Voss tallied 11 kills and 10 digs, while Courtney Holsteen added 9 kills and a block.

• Haley Wolfe chipped in 9 kills and 3 blocks, and Aubrey Gates contributed 10 kills.

• Elise Gillen and Liz Kopp combined for 53 assists, with Gillen handing out 29 and Kopp adding 24.

• Defensively, Maci Lerseth paced the back row with 15 digs, while Ella Walker recorded 7 kills and 3 blocks.

As a team, Sioux Falls finished with 63 kills and a .336 hitting percentage against a UMD squad that entered the night undefeated.

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Up Next

The Cougars continue their NSIC road trip on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Bemidji State with first serve set for 4 p.m.

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