Final Stats

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Kendall Kritenbrink tallied 19 kills and 18 digs while Sydney Dimke added 13 kills as South Dakota volleyball held off an Arkansas rally from two sets down to win 25-20, 25-13, 22-25, 22-25, 15-13 at the Razorback Invitational held at Barnhill Arena on Friday.

It's the first win for South Dakota over an SEC program. The win comes just over a year after USD's last win over a major conference school, a 3-1 win over Texas Tech last Sept. 7. Arkansas was picked seventh in the SEC preseason poll this season.

"The team played with a ton of maturity and heart," said assistant coach Michelle Cole. "They really turned to each other when things got tough. Everyone stepped up when they needed to throughout the match."

Head coach Leanne Williamson did not make the trip because she is expecting twins in the near future.

Kritenbrink was one of two Coyotes to record double-doubles despite missing some playing time with an injury. She returned to record nine digs in set four and five kills in set five, including the match winner.

Brittany Jessen came one kill short of a triple-double with 38 assists, 12 digs and nine kills, while Riley Haug and Melissa Firtko led the Yotes on defense with 25 digs and six total blocks, respectively.

Dimke made her biggest impact in the fourth set with six kills. She was the only Coyote to have more than three kills in that set.

Meredith Hays led Arkansas with 20 kills while Hays and Monica Bollinger tied for the most digs with 18.

South Dakota out-killed the Razorbacks 61-54 despite holding an edge in that stat in only one set. The Coyotes recorded 16 kills in set two while holding Arkansas to just six.

Arkansas rallied back after the second set by winning a pair of competitive sets. The two sides tied 10 times in the third set with Arkansas' 5-2 run to end the set being the deciding factor, and neither team led by more than three points during the fourth set.

The two sides tied 11 times in the deciding set, with USD scoring three of the last four points to win the match.

South Dakota will play two matches on Saturday, starting with Southern Methodist (SMU) at 1 p.m. They will also face Stony Brook at 4:30 p.m.