Jacks snap Bison winning streak
SDSU defeats NDSU in five games
The rivalry is back.
If NDSU and SDSU meet at the Division I Independent tournament in November, expect the game to come down to the wire.
Both matches between the teams this season have been decided in five games.
On Sunday, unforced errors in the final game were the demise of the Bison as they were defeated 30-20, 20-30, 30-24, 26-30, 15-10 in front of 731 fans at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
“ It’s back to the old days when we would come up here and have a battle,” SDSU head coach Andrew Palileo said. “Erich has done a great job of turning the program around in just a year.”
Last season, NDSU won just one game in four matches against the Jackrabbits.
Sunday’s loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Bison, who dropped to 13-10 on the season.
“ We have come a long way since the first match,” NDSU head coach Erich Hinterstocker said of the first matchup between the two teams in September. “Both teams are playing much better volleyball.”
Just like they did in the first match against SDSU, the Bison held a 2-1 game advantage only to lose the final two games.
After the match, Palileo said the reason SDSU won the final game was directly related to its hitting percentage.
The Jackrabbits had a hitting percentage of 54 in game five while the Bison hit just 35 percent with six unforced errors.
This was evident in a crucial part of the game, as the Jackrabbits closed out the match with three consecutive kills to nix a Bison comeback.
“ They were playing faster than we were,” outside hitter Lindsay Rogers said. “We had a chance to come back but we didn’t utilize it.”
SDSU gained control of the fifth game when they scored five straight points to pull ahead 9-4.
The Bison battled back to get the score as close as 12-10, but a poor set by Rogers and a hitting error by Sheila Parrish proved to be costly as SDSU pulled away.
“ We didn’t side out at the end, and we didn’t pass the ball well enough to win the game,” Hinterstocker said of game five.
On Sunday, the Bison gave their fans a glimpse of the source of its successful turnaround from a year ago — dominant play from its senior class.
Seniors Parrish, Rogers and Chloe Quirk combined for 58 kills in the match.
Parrish’s 27 kills were a career-high. Quirk’s 19 kills tied a career high.
Kristina Martin drove the potent SDSU offense with 18 kills.
Since both schools moved to Division I in 2004, SDSU (17-10) has a 9-0 record against NDSU.
“ There is just a huge rivalry between us,” Rogers said of playing SDSU at the Division I Independent tournament. “We’ll have another chance at them; hopefully we will get them there.”