ROCHESTER, Mich. - South Dakota State junior Shay Birath needed 16 digs on Saturday night against Oakland to become the 13th member of the SDSU 1,000-Digs Club, and while she reached the milestone, the did so in a 3-0 loss to the Golden Grizzlies.
"Shay really anchored our defense tonight, and the entire defensive crew deserves accolades for their efforts on the court," head coach Phil McDaniel said. "But we struggled tonight with our overall focus and team energy. We need to show that we have more heart to compete in The Summit League."
The loss by the set scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-11 drops the Jackrabbits to 11-6 overall and 3-2 in The Summit League. Oakland improves to 7-6 overall and 2-2 in league play.
Birath, who also becomes just the fifth junior to reach the 1,000-dig milestone, finished with 18 digs in the loss to lead the Jacks. Kaitlin Klingemann and Kelli Fiegen tied for team-high honors with six kills each. Fiegen added a pair of block assists and Klingemann a service ace.
Jenna Lange and Meghan Bray tied for match-high honors with 11 kills each. Taylor Humm added 10 kills in the win. Both Bray and Humm added 12 digs to complete double-doubles.
The Jacks look to snap the current two-match losing streak on Tuesday, with a non-conference match at North Dakota, before returning home, and to Summit League play, on Saturday against North Dakota State. Tuesday's match at UND begins at 7 p.m., while the Jacks and Bison get started on Saturday at 1 p.m.
