TULSA, Okla. — Sophomore setter
Brittany Jessen recorded a double-double in assists and digs as the Coyotes (10-12, 4-5 SL) knocked off Oral Roberts (11-11, 5-4 SL) 26-24, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22 on Friday in the Aerobics Center.
"I'm really proud of this win on the road," said South Dakota head coach
Leanne Williamson. "Our team had to fight for every point. It wasn't always clean but they clawed on the road against a very tough Oral Roberts team."
As a team the Coyotes recorded nine total team blocks, senior
Kelsey Biltoft led the team with four block assists. Her career total is 307, which is good for second all-time on the Coyotes block assists list.
This is Jessen's 10
th double-double and third straight of the season. Jessen had 45 assists and 17 digs.
Six Coyotes had at least five kills and Biltoft led the Coyotes with 13 and had an attack percentage of .591. Juniors
Audrey Reeg and
Lindsey Brown had 12 and 10 kills, respectively.
Freshman Libero
Lauren Mattison helped protect the backline with 13 digs and Reeg and senior
Kaitlyn Hastings added 11 apiece.
Set one was competitive and neither team led by more than three. With the Coyotes down 17-14, two kills by Reeg and one from junior
Haley Jorgensen during a 5-2 run helped the Coyotes tie up the set at 19. With the score tied at 24, Biltoft had back-to-back kills as the Coyotes claimed set one.
In set two, the Coyotes were down 19-15. South Dakota went on a 10-4 run and scored three straight points twice, to complete the comeback and win the set. Reeg, Biltoft, Jessen, sophomore
Kelly Law, and freshman
Hayley Dotseth all recorded kills during the run as the Coyotes took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Oral Roberts won set three and South Dakota bounced back in set four. The Coyotes jumped out to a 10-5 lead and coasted until the Golden Eagles got within one. With the Coyotes up 19-18, Reeg and Biltoft had three kills apiece as South Dakota won set four and the match.
"Our middles had a fantastic match," said Williamson. "Kelsey and Lindsey scored the ball at a high rate which made us more difficult to defend. We need to continue to improve each day. We are playing some of our best volleyball which is what we want at this point in the season."
The Coyotes are back in action next weekend as the team hosts Omaha on Friday at 7 p.m. and Denver on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Coyotes Den.
