The Bison put on a good performance against the unbeaten ‘yotes
As the snow came pouring down and the wind was howling on October 11, 736 dedicated Bison fans made there into the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse for some NDSU volleyball. However, the crowd watched in dismay as the undefeated University of South Dakota Coyotes held off the Herd to win in five.
The first set started with NDSU surging to a 6-2 lead in the first eight points. That’s how it would go with the Bison leading the rest of the set and winning 25-20.
In the first set, the Bison got 16 with six from Syra Tanchin, who scored the Bison’s first two points, and seven from Alexis Bachmeier.
The second set saw USD rally and stuff the Bison 25-13. The set was sour from the beginning with the Coyotes taking a commanding 9-3 lead right off the bat. Another 7-0 run by USD sealed the deal. Bachmeier was able to add three kills to her tally though.
Set three saw the continuation of Coyote dominance. This time with a 25-17 was what finished it. This set stayed close in the beginning, but USD went on a 4-0 run to solidify their position.
The Herd came back in the fourth though, winning a dominate 25-15. The set stayed close in the beginning with the Bison up 14-12, but a 9-1 run by NDSU put the set away.
The run included kills around the team from Tanchin, Bachmeier, and Kalli Hegerle as well as a service ace from Anne Rasmussen.
With the Bison forcing a fifth, the tension in Bentson Bunker was high. The Coyotes took an early 4-1 lead, but the Bison weren’t done yet. The came back taking a 5-4 lead. However, it all slipped away, and USD went on an enormous 11-0 run to finish out the set and the match.
Some of the Bison’s top performers were Bachmeier who had the second-most kills (13), most aces (two), and most digs (22) for NDSU. Alongside her was Hegerle who had six kills, an ace, two blocks and the most assists on the Bison with 19.
NDSU is now 7-10 overall and 2-3 in the Summit League, which puts them fifth overall. The Coyotes defended their place as number one in the summit league and are now 6-0 for conference play.
Bison Volleyball’s next game is at in-state rival number 7, the University of North Dakota at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15. Their game hosting Denver on Sunday, October 13 has been postponed to Friday.