Volleyball team beats SDSU Jackrabbits to take third place
After three years of futility against SDSU, the Bison seniors will pass on a winning streak against their rival to next year’s team.
The NDSU volleyball team defeated the Jackrabbits in the third place game of the NCAA D-I Independent Tournament 29-31, 30-27, 30-23 and 30-19, led by Sheila Parrish’s 23 kills at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
The Bison had lost nine straight matches against SDSU since the two teams went D-I in 2004, but the Bison now boast a two-match winning streak in the series.
This match also marked the last time five seniors will suit up for the Bison as Parrish, Lindsay Rogers, Kelly Kaufmann, Chloe Quirk and Stacy White ended their careers on a high note.
“ I’m glad we paired up with SDSU,” Rogers, a middle hitter, said. “It sucked it wasn’t the championship match, but I’m glad we got another chance at them.”
Rogers finished the match with 17 kills and 10 digs.
The Jacks got the jump on NDSU early in the match, picking up game one after a late NDSU rally. The Bison were down 28-24 and came back to tie it up at 29 but were unable to complete the comeback.
After that, the Bison took control of the match, winning the next three games.
“ We sped our offense up a lot,” Kaufmann said. “We just kept them guessing by spreading it around, and Mattie Johnson did a great job of doing that.”
Johnson, a freshman setter, finished with 61 assists for NDSU.
Maybe the most impressive part of the match for the Bison was the play of Chloe Quirk.
She spent part of Friday night in the hospital receving treatment because of dehydration. Quirk came back Saturday and played the entire match to finish her senior year.
“ It was really hard having it be my senior year and having it end like this, but I’m glad I could be a part of the win,” Quirk said.
Other notables for the Bison were Christy Stuewe finishing with 18 kills and Kari Fagnan, who led the team with 23 digs.
The Bison ended up in the third place match after a controversial match Friday night against Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne that the Mastadons won in five games, 30-27, 30-26, 17-30, 25-30 and 21-19.
The Bison appeared to have won the match at one point but a call that went against the Bison came in late and forced the match to continue.
“ I have never seen anything like it,” Bison head coach Erich Hinterstocker said. “I am very disappointed.”
The Bison lost despite record-breaking performances by Parrish and Johnson. Parrish tied Brenda Meyer’s five-game record for kills with 33. Johnson broke Janna Rubeke’s record for assists in a five-game match with 82.
The Bison volleyball team finished its first season under Hinterstocker with a 17-13 record.