South Dakota outlasts Bison in five-set win

VERMILLION, S.D. (USD) — South Dakota volleyball completed a 2-0 week at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center with a five-set win over North Dakota State Saturday.

Lauren Medeck led a Coyote attack that saw four Yotes reach double-digit kills with 18 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Kylen Sealock added 16 kills, Morgan Bode put away a new career high 15 kills on a .444 attack rate and Amanda Loschen added 11.

Kamryn Farris recorded a team-high 21 kills and ended the match one dig short of 1,000 career digs. Avery Van Hook tallied her fourth straight double-double with 48 assists and 10 digs, while Medeck had her second straight double-double with 10 digs.

It was a near perfect start for the Coyotes in set one, as they raced out to an 8-1 lead with Farris holding serve for six straight points including two service aces. The Coyotes built their lead to 10, 14-4, following a Medeck kill and would cruise to a 25-17 set one win. The Yotes swung at a .452 rate in the first set behind five kills from Sealock and four from Medeck. All five Coyotes that recorded a kill in the first set held a .400 hitting percentage or higher.

After a quiet first set, Amanda Loschen made her presence felt in the second frame, putting down six kills on eight swings with no errors and one block. USD put away 14 kills and hit at a .270 rate while holding the Bison to eight kills and a .000 clip. In similar fashion to set one, the Coyotes jumped out to an early lead, 9-2, following a Bode kill and Bison error. Loschen and the Coyotes kept their foot on the gas, extending the lead to double digits in the middle of the frame following three straight points from Loschen. With the score 20-10, Loschen would move the Yotes closer to a 2-0 set lead as she teamed up with Van Hook for a block and put away kills for the next two points. USD won the set 25-13 following a NDSU service error.

Set three and four went to the Bison as they evened up the match score at 2-2, forcing a fifth set. NDSU outhit the Coyotes .371 to .286 in the third and had two aces. The Bison tallied just one more kill than USD in the fourth but had two more blocks and one more ace than the Yotes. Both frames were tightly contested with NDSU winning the third by a score of 27-25 and the fourth 25-23.

The Bison held an 8-5 lead at the side change following a six-point run, but Bode would swing the momentum back in USD directions with a kill that started a 7-0 Coyote run. After trading points, USD held a slim 13-12 lead, but would outlast the Bison to take a 3-2 match win with Loschen closing it out with a pair of kills.

South Dakota will play three matches in five days next week beginning with South Dakota State on Tuesday in Brookings, S.D.

Notes

• South Dakota improves to 13-5 on the season and 5-2 in Summit League play
• The Coyotes are now 5-2 in the SCSC after a 2-0 week at home
• USD is 3-1 when a match goes to five set this season and 9-0 when winning the first two sets
• Lauren Medeck had a match-high 18 kills on a .333 clip
• Morgan Bode set a career-high with 15 kills and swung at a .444 rate. She is also took part in seven blocks (two solo) and had one ace
• Kamryn Farris is one dig away from hitting 1,000 career digs as a Coyote after her fifth match this season with 20+ digs
• Sealock has put double-digit kills in her last three matches, and is averaging 17.7 over the last three contests
• Medeck recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 10 digs
• Avery Van Hook notched her 10th double-double of the season with 48 assists and 10 digs
• Cora Hokenstad’s tallied three service aces for the second match in a row and recorded 10+ digs for the third time

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com.