GRAND FORKS, N.D. – South Dakota junior outside hitter Audrey Reeg tallied 55 kills and 28 digs through four matches to earn a spot on the UND Classic all-tournament team. The Coyotes (4-6) split a pair of matches Saturday, defeating Drake 3-1 and falling to Green Bay 1-3 at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
Three Phoenix tallied more than 10 kills apiece in four sets to push Green Bay (7-3) past South Dakota 20-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-21 in the first game of the Coyotes' double-header on Saturday.
 
"Our match against Green Bay was disappointing," head coach Leanne Williamson commented. "We were able to finish out game one, but we got comfortable. We didn't push back consistently until the end of the fourth game, but it was too late at that point. I truly believe we were in control and beat ourselves."
 
South Dakota was led by Reeg's double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs. Junior middle blocker Lindsey Brown also reached double digits with 10 kills. Sophomore setter Brittany Jessen set up 34 assists.
 
On the receiving end, freshman libero Lauren Mattison led the way with 20 digs. Seniors Kaitlyn Hastings and Sydney Dimke helped out with 17 and 15 digs, respectively.
 
The Coyotes took set one 25-20 behind five kills from Reeg. South Dakota jumped out to a 13-5 lead behind two kills apiece from senior Kelsey Biltoft, freshman Hayley Dotseth, and Reeg. Hastings went on a four-point serving run during that time with one ace and forced two Phoenix attacking errors. South Dakota never trailed in the first set and Reeg put the Phoenix away with her fifth kill on the final point.
 
Jessen's ace on the first point of the second game positioned the Coyotes in a 10-4 lead. Green Bay tied the set up at point 16 and never trailed again as they closed out set two 25-19.
 
Neither team trailed by more than two at the beginning of the third set until a pair of kills by Green Bay's Beth Kuske and a pair of Coyote attacking errors put the Phoenix up 10-6. Kills from Reeg, Biltoft and Dimke allowed the Coyotes to hang on near the end of the set. Green Bay's Emily Riese spiked down a kill at match point to solidify the third set 25-21 for the Phoenix.
 
In the Coyotes' first time of reaching a fourth set in 2015, the score remained even through the seventh point. A kill by Kuske and two South Dakota attack errors put Green Bay up 10-7. A 4-0 run by Green Bay pushed the Phoenix into a 20-12 lead, the largest lead of the set. South Dakota closed with a 9-5 run behind kills from Biltoft, Reeg, Jessen, and Brown, but the Phoenix finished the final set off 25-21.
 
South Dakota rallied in the second match of the day in taking down Drake (8-4) 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20. Reeg recorded her second double-double on the day with 19 kills and 12 digs. Dimke swatted down 15 kills in the Coyotes' total 59. Jessen had a match-high 47 assists.
 
The Coyotes split the defensive effort with Reeg's 12 digs, Jessen tallied 15, Hastings added 14 and Mattison had 14.
 
"The Drake match wasn't clean, but we were able to serve well and force them into bad situations which helped our defense," said Williamson. "Our energy and determination were a big change from the first match. Sydney did a great job of erasing the first match and being a go-to player for us once again. Audrey led us offensively and gave the team someone to rely on."
 
South Dakota started the first set with a run of three with kills by Reeg and Biltoft. The Bulldogs tied up the set at 7-7. The two teams rallied back and forth until the 17th point. The Coyotes pulled ahead with five kills from Reeg in the final seven points as the Coyotes won 25-20.
 
Drake took the second set 25-23 with two Coyote attack errors on the final two points.
 
Neither team had more than a two point advantage through the 12th point. Dimke had an ace and a kill as the Coyotes went up 18-13. Reeg swatted down a pair of kills, Hastings and Jessen served aces, and Biltoft tallied a kill as South Dakota finished off the third set 25-17.
 
With Jessen serving, South Dakota went on a 6-0 run to start the fourth set. Jessen had an ace, Dimke had two kills and Reeg notched one kill during that span. Four Coyote attack errors helped Drake tie up the set at eight. Drake's Grace Schofield and Dotseth each tallied a pair of kills to keep the score tied at 10. The score tied up again at 19, ensuing a timeout called by Williamson. After the pep talk, the Coyotes finished off the final six points with two aces by Hastings, kills from Dotseth and Reeg, and an ace by Brown.
 
South Dakota travels to West Lafayette, Ind., for a tournament at Purdue. The Coyotes open against the hosts at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18.