South Dakota State won the first set with UMKC on Friday night at Frost Arena by a 25-22 score, but dropped the next three in the battle of 4-2 Summit League teams by the set scores of 27-25, 25-21 and 25-23 to fall 3-1 in the match.
The loss drops the Jackrabbits to 12-6 on the season overall and to 4-3 in The Summit League, while the visiting Kangaroos improve to 12-7 overall and to 5-2 in league play.
"I'm disappointed with our overall team focus tonight," head coach Phil McDaniel said. "We have to do a better job of taking care of our teammates in future matches."
Kelli Fiegen led the Jacks with 16 kills, Bailey Philippot added 14 and Kelly Herrmann 10 kills in the loss. Margit Hansing led the defense with 18 digs, while Shay Birath finished with 12.
Emily Lucas led the visiting Kangaroos with a match-high 30 kills, and did so with a .436 hitting percentage on 55 swings with six errors. Emma Hagedorn added 13 kills for the 'Roos in 18 swings with just one error for a .667 hitting percentage.
The Kangaroos as a team finished with a .253 hitting percentage (64-25-154), while the Jacks hit at a .167 clip (51-27-162). UMKC also won the blocking battle with 11 team blocks, compared to 10 by the Jackrabbits.
The Jackrabbits trailed for much of the first two sets, and battled back to win the opener 25-22, only to fall in the second set 27-25.
The visitors left no doubt about the outcome of the third set in jumping out to a 17-10 lead and never looking back in a 25-21 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
SDSU opened the fourth set on a 3-0 run, and opened up a commanding 12-5 lead, only to see it vanish in a 7-1 UMKC run that brought them to within one point at 16-15.
The Jacks would hold them off for a few more points, until the Kangaroos got a 4-0 run that started with the Jacks up 21-19 and ended with the 'Roos up 23-21. The Jacks would tie the set at 23-all, but could not regain the lead in the 25-23 loss.
The Jackrabbits look to get back on the winning track on Saturday, when they host South Dakota at 7 p.m. The Coyotes fell in straight sets at North Dakota State on Friday.
