GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senior Sydney Dimke recorded 13 kills and junior Audrey Reeg added 10 more as South Dakota swept Jacksonville State 25-21, 25-10, 25-22 in the opening match of the UND Classic on Friday at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
South Dakota (3-4) takes the series lead against Jacksonville State (4-4) 2-1. The two teams won a match apiece in two meetings in 2012.
 
"I'm really happy with the way we played in this match," said head coach Leanne Williamson. "Playing this early in the morning can be tough, so for them to come out and win in three sets against a good offensive team is reassuring. It was definitely a team win since we finished hitting .400 as a team. Sydney had a great match all around with 13 kills and 16 digs. However, I am really happy with our middles efficiency. They followed the game plan and attacked with a lot of confidence. Brittany did a tremendous job of moving the ball around and putting our hitters into positive situations while also scoring herself."
 
The Gamecocks set the tone early in the first set with a 16-10 lead. A pair of kills from Dimke, Reeg, and junior Lindsey Brown put the Coyotes on a 10-1 run to take the lead 18-17. The two teams rallied back and forth until freshman Hayley Dotseth swatted down the Coyote's final point to take game one 25-21.
 
South Dakota cruised to a 25-10 win in the second set. The Coyotes notched a .583 hitting percentage and held Jacksonville to a .136 clip. Dimke led the Coyotes with four kills and two serving aces. Brown tallied four kills and sophomore Brittany Jessen had a run of three aces. Freshman Kelly Braghini also recorded her first collegiate kill on the 23rd point of the set.
 
The two teams remained relatively even through the sixth point of set three. South Dakota went on a 6-1 run with a pair of kills from Reeg and two points from Brown to pull into the lead 13-7. The Gamecocks came within two again at 23-21, but two kills by Dimke finished off the match at 25-22.
 
On the receiving end, Dimke tallied 16 digs and senior Kaitlyn Hastings added 10.
 
The Coyotes return to the court tonight at 7:30 p.m. to face the host North Dakota. Fans can watch the televised game on MidcoSN in addition to online at UNDSports.com. Live stats will also be available here.