A pounding at the hands of NDSU showed that SDSU is a class below the Summit’s defending champs.

Despite an electrifying third set, the North Dakota State Bison proved to be too much for the Jacks volleyball team Oct. 1 at Frost Arena.

To say that the first two sets were all NDSU may be an understatement.. The Jacks didn’t  put up much of a fight offensively, scoring only 13 points in each of the first two sets. Things weren’t much better on the defensive end either as NDSU (12-6, 5-1 Summit) never trailed until the beginning of the third set.

The hard-fought third set may give Jackrabbit fans reason to believe that this team can play among the best teams in the Summit League. After being blown out in the first two sets, SDSU played much better in set three as they battled through nine tie scores and held a five point lead at one point.

The set got off to a quick start for the Jacks with kills by Kelli Fiegen and Ellyce Youngren. Another kill from Youngren eventually capped a 12-7 SDSU run and appeared to be enough for a legitimate comeback. SDSU and NDSU traded points for the remainder of the set, which included five lead changes, until NDSU eventually took the set from the Jacks 29-27.

Although there were several bright spots in the loss, SDSU head volleyball coach Phil McDaniel will be looking for more from the Jackrabbits in the future.

“The effort in the third (set) is what I was looking for. My one question was, ‘Why didn’t we start that way in the first two sets?’ That’s what we’re battling right now…we’re not coming out with that same intensity, that same focus, from 0-0, and we have to … We can’t wait for something to happen, we have to make something happen,” McDaniel said.

For junior Kelly Herrmann, the difference between the third set and the first two came down to one thing: bad communication.

Herrmann expressed the same sentiments about the match as her coach, pointing to the many mental mistakes SDSU made over the course of the match.

“We missed 11 serves tonight, which in a three set match is a lot…Those are the little things that make a big difference,” Herrmann said.

SDSU will have little time to make mental adjustments with the top team in the Summit League, Oral Roberts, coming to Frost Arena on Friday, Oct. 7 followed by another Summit League opponent, Southern Utah, on Saturday night.