GAME 23: SOUTH DAKOTA (18-4, 7-1) vs. Oral Roberts (12-10, 4-4)
When	Friday, Oct. 21, 2016 | 7 p.m. CT
Where	Cooper Aerobics Center | Tulsa, Okla.
Live Stream	ORUathletics.com
Live Stats	ORUathletics.com
USD Links	Roster | Schedule | Stats
ORU Links	Roster | Schedule | Stats
Social Media	Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

VERMILLION, S.D. — The 2016 volleyball season is at the half-way point of conference play with each team having eight games left to make a final push for the Summit League Tournament.
 
South Dakota is off to its best start since joining Division I, 18-4, and has tied the school's best start in Summit League play at 7-1. USD has the highest RPI of any Summit League team and is ranked 92^nd in the nation.
 
The Coyotes sit atop the Summit League standings with defending champion, Denver, one game back. Fort Wayne and IUPUI are currently tied for third at 5-3 while Oral Roberts and North Dakota State are tied for fifth at 4-4. The top six teams will advance to the Summit League Tournament in Denver, Colo., on Nov. 18-20.
 
South Dakota opened the season by winning Tulsa's Hurricane Classic and then a couple weeks later they won the Pacific Community Classic. Throughout the year, USD has swept 11 teams, including five Summit League opponents.
 
Not only are the Coyotes having one of the best years since joining D-I, they are also making a name for themselves on the national stage. South Dakota currently ranks in the top-20 in the nation for three statistical categories. The Coyotes rank fourth in digs per set (18.09), 17^th in assists per set (13.28) and 18^th in match W-L percentage (.818). As for the Summit League, USD is first in assists, digs and kills per set.
 
USD also ranks 33^rd in team digs (1,357), 42^nd in kills per set (13.92), 53^rd in team assists (996), 55^th in opponent hitting percentage (.175), 63^rd in hitting percentage (.247) and 75^th in team kills (1,044).
 
Senior outside hitter Audrey Reeg leads the Coyote offense and is second in the Summit with 295 kill and 3.93 kills per set. She is second on the team and ninth in the Summit with 272 digs (3.63 per set). She has recorded a double-double 12 times with kills and digs. For her career, Reeg has 1,129 kills which ranks eighth on the Coyotes' all-time kills list. She has 1,347 digs which ranks sixth best. She is only the fourth Coyote to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career.
 
After Reeg, redshirt sophomore Rachel Schmidt and freshman Elizabeth Loschen average 2.56 and 2.29 kills per set, respectively. Senior middle blocker Lindsey Brown is fourth in the Summit for hitting percentage with .356 and has 106 kills.
 
Junior setter Brittany Jessen keeps the Coyote offense going. She leads the Summit and ranks 22^nd in the nation with 10.97 assists per set. She currently ranks fourth on the Coyotes' all-time assists list with 3,360 and is 20^th on the Summit League career leaders list. She has recorded two triple-doubles on the year. She tallied 39 assists, 19 digs and 12 kills in the Coyotes first match in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center and then had 40 assists, 10 kills and 10 digs against Pacific. She has recorded 30-plus assists 19 times.
 
Defensively, sophomore libero Lauren Mattison leads the Coyotes and is fourth in the Summit with 323 digs (4.31 per set). Junior middle blocker Kelly Law is sixth in the Summit with 0.88 blocks per set.
 
South Dakota's final eight regular season games are split between home and on the road.
 
Remaining Schedule

Oct.21	Oral Roberts	Tulsa, Okla.	7 p.m.
Oct. 28	Omaha	Vermillion, S.D.	7 p.m.
Oct. 29	Western Illinois	Vermillion, S.D.	6 p.m.
Nov. 1	North Dakota State	Fargo, N.D.	7 p.m.
Nov. 4	IUPUI	Indianapolis, Ind.	5 p.m.
Nov. 5	Fort Wayne	Fort Wayne, Ind.	6 p.m.
Nov. 11	Denver	Vermillion, S.D.	6 p.m.
Nov. 12	South Dakota State	Vermillion, S.D.	6 p.m.