SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of Sioux Falls Volleyball team delivered one of its strongest offensive performances of the season Friday night inside the Stewart Center, but came up just short in a five-set battle against Northern State.
The Cougars opened the evening with a dominant 25-16 first-set victory before the Wolves responded to take the next two frames. Sioux Falls forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-21 fourth-set win, but Northern State pulled away in the final frame to secure the 16-25, 25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 15-10 victory.
USF finished with 67 kills while hitting .315 as a team, led by an outstanding performance from
Ella Walker, who recorded 19 kills on .600 hitting, and
Aubrey Gates, with 18 kills on a .471 attack. The Cougars move to 6-12 overall and 2-8 in NSIC play, while Northern State improves to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in conference action.
The Basics
Final: Northern State 3, Sioux Falls 2
Set Scores: 25-16, 22-25, 18-25, 25-21, 10-15
Records: Sioux Falls 6-12 (2-8 NSIC) | Northern State 13-5 (8-2 NSIC)
How It Happened
Sioux Falls wasted little time establishing control in the opening set, scoring the first five points behind strong play at the net from
Haley Wolfe and
Abby Haus. The Cougars maintained their advantage throughout the frame before using a six-point run to extend their lead from 13-11 to 19-11. USF continued to apply pressure down the stretch, with Wolfe delivering the final kill to secure a commanding 25-16 victory. Sioux Falls hit an impressive .538 in the opening set, recording 16 kills on just 26 attacks with two errors.
The second set featured a back-and-forth battle with 12 ties and seven lead changes. After falling behind 10-8, Sioux Falls used a four-point run to take a 13-10 advantage. Northern State responded, and the teams continued trading points deep into the frame. USF erased a 22-20 deficit to tie the set at 22-22, but the Wolves answered with three consecutive points to even the match with a 25-22 victory. Despite the setback, the Cougars continued their efficient offensive performance, hitting .324 with 14 kills.
Northern State carried its momentum into the third set, building an early 10-7 advantage before Sioux Falls responded with a run to tie the frame at 15-15. The Wolves regained control with three consecutive points and eventually extended their lead to 21-17. Northern State closed the set with four of the final five points to take a 25-18 victory and a 2-1 match advantage.
Facing elimination, Sioux Falls responded with another impressive offensive performance in the fourth. The teams traded points early before back-to-back kills from Walker helped the Cougars establish a 14-10 advantage. Northern State battled back to within one at 17-16, but USF answered with four straight points, highlighted by consecutive blocks involving Wolfe, Haus and
Kyleigh Tangen. The Cougars maintained their advantage down the stretch, with Walker delivering the set-winning kill for a 25-21 victory. Sioux Falls recorded 18 kills and hit .372 in the frame to force a decisive fifth set.
In the final set, Northern State jumped ahead 8-4 before Sioux Falls responded with three consecutive points to pull within one at 8-7. The Wolves answered with a 4-1 run to build a 12-8 advantage. USF continued battling, but Northern State closed out the 15-10 victory to take the match in five sets.
Key Cougars
Ella Walker led Sioux Falls with 19 kills while committing just one attacking error on 30 attempts for an outstanding .600 hitting percentage. Walker also added two blocks and finished with a team-high 20 points.
Aubrey Gates delivered one of the Cougars' strongest offensive performances of the evening, recording 18 kills on .471 hitting. Gates committed just two errors on 34 attempts while adding three blocks and 20 points.
Abby Haus contributed 10 kills and four blocks, while
Haley Wolfe added nine kills on .333 hitting and a match-high eight blocks, including one solo stop.
Hollie Peterson directed the Sioux Falls offense with 49 assists while adding five kills on .417 hitting.
Maci Lerseth anchored the defensive effort with a match-high 28 digs and seven assists, while
Faith Van Eck added 10 digs.
By the Numbers
- Sioux Falls recorded 67 kills on .315 hitting, committing just 14 attacking errors across five sets.
- The Cougars hit above .300 in three of the five sets, including .538 in the opening frame and .372 in the fourth.
- Walker and Gates combined for 37 kills while committing just three attacking errors on 64 attempts.
- USF held an 11-6 advantage in total blocks, led by Wolfe's eight.
- Peterson accounted for 49 of the Cougars' 61 assists.
- Lerseth finished with 28 digs as Sioux Falls collected 62 as a team.
- Northern State finished with 74 kills on .337 hitting, led by Linnea Nesheim's 28 kills.
- The match featured 26 ties and 10 lead changes.
Up Next
The Cougars will host Jamestown tomorrow afternoon for Alumni Day with first serve scheduled for 4pm. USF will continue their homestand next weekend when they host MSU Moorhead on October 16th followed by Minnesota Crookston on the 17th.
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