SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of Sioux Falls Volleyball team battled No. 9 Concordia-St. Paul Friday night inside the Stewart Center, taking the third set from the Golden Bears before falling in four sets, 3-1. The Cougars dropped the opening two frames by identical 25-21 scores before responding with a 25-22 victory in the third. Concordia-St. Paul closed out the match with a 25-13 win in the fourth set.
Abby Haus led the Cougar offense with 14 kills while hitting .333, while Aubrey Gates added 12 kills and Kyleigh Tangen finished with 10. Hollie Peterson directed the offense with 41 assists and 10 digs, while Maci Lerseth anchored the defensive effort with a match-high 19 digs.
Sioux Falls finished with 51 kills and a .263 hitting percentage, recording nine service aces and 57 digs. The Cougars turned in their strongest offensive performance in the third set, hitting .389 with 17 kills to extend the match.
The result moves Sioux Falls to 9-16 overall and 5-12 in NSIC play, while Concordia-St. Paul improves to 20-5 overall and 15-2 in conference action.
The Basics
Final: Concordia-St. Paul 3, Sioux Falls 1
Set Scores: 21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 13-25
Records: Sioux Falls 9-16 (5-12 NSIC) | Concordia-St. Paul 20-5 (15-2 NSIC)
Location: Stewart Center | Sioux Falls, S.D.
Attendance: 148
How It Happened
Set One | Concordia-St. Paul 25, Sioux Falls 21
Concordia-St. Paul jumped out to an early 8-3 advantage before Sioux Falls responded with a five-point run behind three consecutive kills from Aubrey Gates and a service ace from Kyleigh Tangen. The Cougars continued their momentum with another point to take a 9-8 lead.
The teams traded points throughout the middle stages, with kills from Ella Walker, Gates and Tangen keeping Sioux Falls within striking distance. The Golden Bears eventually extended their lead to 21-16 before the Cougars began another late push.
A service ace from Maci Lerseth, followed by a kill and service ace from Hollie Peterson, brought Sioux Falls within one at 22-21. Concordia-St. Paul answered with the final three points to claim the opening set, 25-21.
Sioux Falls recorded 15 kills and hit .263 in the first frame.
Set Two | Concordia-St. Paul 25, Sioux Falls 21
The Cougars came out strong in the second set, building an early 4-2 advantage before stretching their lead to 8-3. Tangen provided a spark from the service line with two aces during the opening stretch, while the Cougar defense contributed a pair of blocks.
Sioux Falls continued to maintain its advantage, extending the lead to 12-7 behind kills from Walker, Peterson and Haley Wolfe.
Concordia-St. Paul responded with a five-point run to even the score at 12-12, setting up a competitive middle portion of the frame. The Cougars briefly reclaimed the lead at 15-14 following a kill from Tangen, but the Golden Bears answered with three consecutive points to move ahead 17-15.
Sioux Falls remained within reach as Gates and Haus contributed kills down the stretch. Trailing 24-19, the Cougars received consecutive kills from Haus to pull within three, but Concordia-St. Paul secured the final point to take the set, 25-21, and a 2-0 match advantage.
Set Three | Sioux Falls 25, Concordia-St. Paul 22
Facing a two-set deficit, Sioux Falls delivered its strongest offensive performance of the evening in the third frame.
The teams exchanged points early before Concordia-St. Paul built a 10-7 advantage. The Cougars responded with kills from Walker and Gates, followed by a block from Peterson and Wolfe, to tie the score at 10-10.
The Golden Bears regained a 14-11 lead, but Sioux Falls answered with a three-point run behind a kill from Tangen, a Concordia-St. Paul attacking error and a kill from Haus to even the score at 14-14.
The Cougars continued battling, eventually taking a 17-16 lead behind a kill from Haus. Tangen followed with another kill before Gates contributed a block and a kill to extend the Sioux Falls advantage to 20-17.
Gates continued her strong offensive stretch with another kill to make it 21-18. A Concordia-St. Paul attacking error and a Peterson service ace pushed the lead to 23-19.
Haus delivered a kill to bring up set point at 24-21, and after the Golden Bears extended the frame, Tangen finished the set with a kill to secure the 25-22 victory.
Sioux Falls hit .389 in the third set, recording 17 kills with just three attacking errors on 36 attempts.
Set Four | Concordia-St. Paul 25, Sioux Falls 13
Concordia-St. Paul opened the fourth set with five consecutive points, forcing Sioux Falls to play from behind early.
The Golden Bears continued their offensive momentum, extending the advantage to 13-3 before the Cougars began finding success behind kills from Haus, Peterson and Gates.
Sioux Falls received additional contributions from Wolfe and Haus as the frame progressed, while service aces from Faith Van Eck and Gretchen Volk provided late scoring opportunities.
Despite the Cougars' efforts, Concordia-St. Paul maintained control throughout the frame, closing out the match with a 25-13 victory.
Key Cougars
Abby Haus led Sioux Falls with 14 kills on 30 attempts, hitting .333 while committing just four attacking errors. Haus also contributed two block assists and finished with a team-high 15 points.
Aubrey Gates finished with 12 kills on 34 attempts while hitting .265. Gates added three digs and a block assist, providing a consistent offensive presence throughout the match.
Kyleigh Tangen recorded 10 kills, 13 digs and a team-high three service aces. Tangen also added two assists and finished with 13 points.
Ella Walker contributed eight kills and a team-high three block assists, while Haley Wolfe added four kills, two digs and two block assists.
Hollie Peterson directed the Cougar offense with 41 assists while recording 10 digs, three kills, two service aces and two block assists.
Maci Lerseth led the defensive effort with a match-high 19 digs while adding three assists and two service aces.
Faith Van Eck added four digs, three assists and a service ace, while Gretchen Volk contributed three digs and a service ace.
By the Numbers
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51 – Total kills recorded by Sioux Falls.
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.263 – Team hitting percentage for the Cougars.
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.389 – Sioux Falls' hitting percentage in the third set, with 17 kills and just three errors.
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14 – Kills from Abby Haus, who hit .333.
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41 – Assists from Hollie Peterson, who also recorded 10 digs.
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19 – Match-high digs from Maci Lerseth.
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9 – Service aces recorded by Sioux Falls, led by Kyleigh Tangen with three.
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57 – Team digs for the Cougars.
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5 – Total team blocks for Sioux Falls.
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22 – Ties throughout the four-set matchup, including 11 in the third set.
Up Next
Sioux Falls will host Winona State tomorrow afternoon at 2pm for Senior Day before hitting the road for their final two matches of the regular season next weekend.
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