VERMILLION, S.D. -- Senior
Carol Logato surpassed 1,000 digs for her career, but the South Dakota volleyball team fell to Oakland, 25-18, 16-25, 25-17, 26-28, 15-11 in Summit League action Friday night in Vermillion, S.D. The Coyotes fell to 13-16 overall and 6-9 in the Summit League, while Oakland improved to 15-10 overall and 9-6 in conference play.
It was South Dakota's eighth straight five-set match - a school record. The Coyotes had 60 kills in the match, but also had 34 hitting errors.
Logato (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) had 15 digs in the match; she entered the match nine kills away from 1,000. She also added 14 kills. Freshman Riley Haug (Gretna, Neb.) had a career-high 41 digs, while freshmen Kendall Kritenbrink (Gretna, Neb.) had 19 kills. Sophomore setter Tori Kroll (Germantown, Wis.) had 47 set assists, 20 digs and four kills, while sophomore Natalie Walseth (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) had 10 kills and a career-high 18 digs.
The Coyotes were down 2-1 in match and faced a 16-9 deficit in the fourth set. But once again, they mustered a comeback, going on a 13-6 run to tie the set at 22-22. Kritenbrink had three kills during that stretch, while Logato and Walseth had two each. Haug had two service aces.
The Coyotes took the lead at 25-24 after a Walseth kill; the set was tied at 26-26 before the Coyotes scored two straight points - on kills from Logato and Kritenbrink - to earn a 28-26 win.
In the fifth set, South Dakota held a 4-3 lead after Walseth and junior Lindsey Sathre (Maple Grove, Minn.) teamed up for a block. But Oakland scored five straight point to take an 8-4 lead, forcing the Coyotes to play catch-up the rest of the way.
South Dakota cut the lead to 10-8 after a kill by senior Tahnee Reed (Pierce, Neb.), but got no closer as Oakland took a 15-11 win in the set and clinching a 3-2 win in the match.
The Coyotes held a 10-9 lead in the first set before Oakland scored four straight points to take a 13-10 lead. The Coyotes were as close as 14-12 after an Oakland error, but the Golden Grizzlies scored six straight points to surge into a 20-12 lead, on their way to a 25-18 win in the set. The Coyotes hit just -.024 in the set, compared to .222 for Oakland.
South Dakota grabbed the momentum midway through the second set. The Coyotes held a 13-12 lead but scored three straight points - with Sathre recording a kill - to push the lead to 16-12. Oakland cut the lead to 18-15, but the Coyotes ended the set strong on a 7-1 run - sparked by a Walseth block and kills from Logato and Kroll.
Oakland turned the tide in the third set after trailing 7-6 early. The Golden Grizzlies led 15-12 but pulled away on their way to a 25-17 win, setting by the fourth set.
Reed had nine kills for the Coyotes, while freshman Kyle Everett (Maple Grove, Minn.) added 15 digs. Walseth had four block assists and two solos, while Haug had a team-high four service aces.
The Coyotes wrap up the home part of their season against Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the DakotaDome.
