The volleyball and soccer teams hit a few early season snags
The Bison fell 1-0 to the University of Hawaii on Friday.
Volleyball
The Bison rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Illinois-Chicago 3-2 in a five-set marathon but dropped a 3-2 decision to Central Michigan at the Chippewa Invitational. The Bison then finished off the Chippewa Invitational with another hard-fought, 3-2 set win against Eastern Illinois on Saturday.
Illinois-Chicago took the first two sets and came back from a deficit in set 1. However, the Bison came storming back to win the third and fourth sets. The fourth set featured 16 ties and six lead changes. This marks the tenth time the Bison have come back from a 2-0 deficit to win since 1999.
Sophomore Kalli Hegerle recorded a ‘triple-double’ with 10 kills, 22 assists and 11 digs, while freshman Kelley Johnson added 21 assists and 12 digs. Senior Abbi Klos added a team-high 19 digs. Juinor Bella Lien collected a match-high five blocks as the Bison had a 12-5 advantage in the block department.
Against Central Michigan, the Bison took an 11-9 lead in the final set on kills from junior Emily Halverson and sophomore Maggie Steffen. The Chippewa’s refused to go quietly. Central Michigan rolled off four straight points to seize control of the set, and ultimately, the match.
It was a career night for junior Alexis Bachmeier as she connected on 19 kills to go along with 15 digs as the Bison outhit Central Michigan .260 to .190. The Bison also held an 11-3 advantage in the block department. Pretty much they were ahead in everything except the scoreboard. Hegerle completed was again able to complete a triple-double, her third in five matches.
Looking ahead the now 3-3 Bison will head home for the NDSU classic starting on Friday. The herd gets a much deserved 6-day break to rest up and reload before they take on the Cal Bears.
Soccer
The Bison soccer team fell 1-0 to the University of Hawaii on Friday, marking their first loss of the year. Kelci Sumida played the role of villain as her goal in the 26th minute gave Hawaii the early advantage. It was only Sumida’s second goal on the year, but it ended up being enough to give the Rainbow Warriors the dub.
Bison head coach Mike Regan was impressed with Hawaii saying, “I think Hawaii was very, very good on the night.” As good as Regan thought Hawaii looked, he was just as disappointed in the herd slow start. “They deserved to win the match. We’ve got to start better and come out with the energy that we talk about. In games like this, you have to step up to the plate.”
Hawaii had the advantage in shots 15-11 and shots on goal at 8-3. Mariah Haberle’s three shots moved her into eighth in school history with 162 career shot attempts. Haberle also moved into a tie for seventh in school history with 68 career shots on goal.
With the loss, the Bison drop to 3-1-1 on the season and they will look to bounce back when winless Chicago State comes to town on the eighth before they travel to Des Moines to take on Drake next Friday.
With conference play sneaking up, the Bison are looking to bounce back after a tough performance and show that they can battle through the adversity that is experienced through the grind of a long season.