Final Stats

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Audrey Reeg tallied 13 kills and Melissa Firtko recorded six service aces as South Dakota volleyball topped South Dakota State 25-12, 25-20, 25-15 on Friday night in Frost Arena. It's the eighth-straight time USD has beaten the Jacks dating back to the 2010 season.

Reeg, who recorded her 13 kills and a pair of errors on 25 attacks, finished with an attack percentage of .440 and was one of three Coyotes to record a mark over .400. Kendall Kritenbrink tallied seven kills on 15 attacks for a .467 mark while Kelsey Biltoft finished with five kills and one error on 10 attacks for a mark of .400. Sydney Dimke added nine kills and two errors on 18 attacks to finish at .389.

Overall, the Coyotes (13-8, 7-1) tallied 46 kills and had an attack percentage of .333 in the match. SDSU (6-17, 0-7) had 30 kills and an attack percentage of .152.

Firtko's six aces helped USD to a 7-1 advantage in that stat. Her mark is tied for the second most recorded by a Coyote during a three set match since the 2000 season. She also added seven digs, four kills, four assists and three blocks.

Riley Haug led the Coyotes on defense with 15 digs while Brittany Jessen tallied 34 assists and nine digs.

SDSU was led offensively by Ashley Beaner and Tiara Gibson, who both tallied seven kills. Alanna Pengilly recorded 13 digs to lead the Jacks on defense.

South Dakota finished set one by scoring 21 of the last 29 points in the set. USD had 14 kills and an attack percentage of .343 in the opener while SDSU had eight kills on a .051 clip. Reeg had six kills while Kritenbrink and Dimke both added three kills. Haug had six digs to lead the Coyotes defensively.

South Dakota followed up by hitting .371 with 17 kills in the second set. Dimke and Kritenbrink tallied four kills in the set, but Kritenbrink left the court after turning her ankle on a block attempt while USD was leading 15-11. She did not return the rest of the match. However, USD didn't let the lead shrink to less than three for the rest of the set.

The Coyotes scored 12 of the last 13 points in set three to complete the sweep. Firtko recorded four aces in the set, including three on the final 12-1 run. Reeg added five kills while Haug tallied another six digs.

The win gives USD an early 1-0 lead in this year's South Dakota Showdown Series. The two sides will compete again on Nov. 11 in Vermillion for another point in the competition.

The Coyotes will next travel Tulsa, Okla., to take on Oral Roberts (9-11, 3-4) at 7 p.m. on Oct. 24. They'll then return to The Den to take on Omaha (8-12, 3-4) on Oct. 26.