Box score
SPEARFISH, S.D. – Minot State University volleyball dropped its second straight match on the road in South Dakota, falling in four at Black Hills State Saturday.
MSU and BHSU played two extremely close games and two that weren't nearly as dramatic. After losing set 1 25-15, the Beavers rallied for one of the longest sets of the season, winning 33-31. Set 3 was all BHSU as the Yellow Jackets won 25-16 and then finished off the Beavers with a 27-25 win in game 4.
“That's what happens when you loose your quarterback,” said MSU head coach Travis Ward referring to starting setter Emily Byrne (Fr., Reno, Nev.), who didn't play due to injury. “You are going to have good quarters and bad quarters. We need to make adjustments, but the problem is we don't have to work on that in practice. It's unfortunate that Emily got hurt right before a four-match stretch.”
The Beavers (9-12) again struggled with hitting percentage as MSU finished hitting at just a .121 pace. MSU hit .158 in set 1 and a respectable .286 in set 2, but it steadily dropped off from there.
“We have been too error prone for the past couple of weeks,” Ward said. “It is hard to get consistency when you loose players, but we also need to make adjustments.”
Jenna Moffatt (So., L, Brandon, Manitoba) had the bulk of the setting duties in place of Byrne, finishing with a career-high 31 assists. Brittney Thingstad (R-Fr., L, Velva, N.D.) filled in nicely for Moffatt at libero, finishing with 19 digs.
“We played hard and certainly wants to win,” Ward said. “It's too bad this happened when it did because I don't think either team (S.D. Mines and BHSU on the road trip) was better than us with a full lineup.”
BHSU (9-17) got a match-high 20 kills from Amy O'Neill. Kylee Lamb (18 kills) and Caitlin Templeton (16 kills) combined for 54 of the Yellow Jackets' 66 kills. Darbi Yost added 58 assists in the win.
Jen Dixon (So., OH, Brandon, Manitoba) finished with 17 kills, while Janice Reinbolt (Sr., MH, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan) added 11 kills, while Sara Friesen (So., MH, Brandon, Manitoba) finished with nine kills. Chauncee Axelson (So., S, Williston, N.D.) added 13 assists and a service ace for the Beavers.
MSU returns home Monday to play host to South Dakota Mines for Dig Pink night starting at 7 p.m. The Beavers also play host to Mayville State Tuesday before heading to Sioux Falls, S.D., for late-season tournament over the weekend.
– GO BEAVERS –
