Jacks squander lead, fall in five sets to NDSU
BROOKINGS – The Dakotas drought continues for the South Dakota State volleyball program, extended Tuesday night in excruciating fashion.
On their home floor, the Jackrabbits squandered a two-set lead in dropping a 20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-21, 15-13 decision to North Dakota State in Summit League action before a crowd of 408. They went from threatening to sweep the Bison for the first time in nine years to dropping their 10th match in a row against the other NCAA Division I schools in the Dakotas.
"We had a good chance to break that tonight, but we let one slip," fourth-year coach Phil McDaniel said. "We definitely let one slip."
The Jacks (6-13, 0-3) hadn't blown a two-set lead to anybody since Oct. 22, 2011.
The third set was problematic from the start. SDSU fell behind early and never threatened, plagued by poor serve receive. That opened the door NDSU (6-10, 1-2) to rally and for weird things to happen.
The Jacks dropped the fourth set despite hitting .370 – more than double their season average and the best by either side in the match. In the finale, SDSU rallied from six down to get within 14-13 before succumbing to the Bison.
"We weren't being aggressive with the things we were doing," said NDSU coach Kari Thompson, whose club has won six of seven in the series. "We didn't have a purpose to what we were doing."
That changed as the match progressed, the Bison stealing their first conference win of the season. Sophomores Emily Miron and Emily Minnick and junior Jenni Fassbender finished with at least 14 kills each.
SDSU got 14 kills from junior Wagner Larson plus 11 apiece from sophomores Kacey Herrmann and Emily Veldman. That tied a career high for Veldman, who totaled 17 through the first 18 matches this season. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter made the most of the extra reps available with starters freshman Ashley Beaner – third on the team in kills – and sophomore Mikala Hora out because of injuries. Both are expected to return to the lineup soon, Beaner perhaps as early as Friday for a contest against Summit preseason favorite Denver.
In other words, the schedule isn't about to show any sympathy toward the Jacks. And playing at Frost Arena is of no consolation at the moment; they're 1-8 there this season.
"We've got to understand that when we've got opponents down on our home court there's no coming back," McDaniel said. "They need to know it, we need to know it and we need to make sure we prove that."
Also, SDSU would like to prove it can at least occassionally beat its geographical rivals NDSU, the University of South Dakota and North Dakota. It'll have three more chances this season, visiting Fargo on Oct. 26 and playing a home and home against the Coyotes.
The Jacks haven't upended any of those teams since besting the Bison in Brookings on Sept. 16, 2012.
"I know people that go to USD and go to NDSU," said Herrmann, who added 21 digs. "I definitely want to show people that I picked this school for a reason. I think if we just keep working hard hopefully we'll get them next time."