VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota senior Audrey Reeg tallied a match-high 13 kills to lead the Coyotes past the Omaha Mavericks 25-17, 25-17, 25-16 Friday night inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Reeg was honored before the match with a game ball, as she became the eighth Coyote to record 1,000 career kills, which happened Sept. 23.
 
With the win, the Coyotes (20-4, 9-1) clinched a spot in the Summit League Tournament. South Dakota continues to make history as its 20 wins are the most since USD joined the Division I level.
 
"It was good to be back home," said South Dakota head volleyball coach Leanne Williamson. "It wasn't always the cleanest volleyball, but we were able to work through those moments and finish the games strong. Omaha is always a scrappy team that forces our hitters to work for their kills.
 
"Lauren Mattison had a great night on the defensive end and Lindsey Brown played almost flawless offensively."
 
Reeg had eight digs and three block assists to go along with her kills. Redshirt sophomore Rachel Schmidt added eight kills, junior middle blocker Lindsey Brown had seven kills with a hitting percentage of .778 and freshman Elizabeth Loschen had six more.
 
Junior setter Brittany Jessen paced the Coyotes offense with 31 assists. She added seven digs, one service ace and one block assist.
 
Defensively, sophomore libero Lauren Mattison had a match-high 20 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Hayley Dotseth was next with 12. Redshirt junior Meagan Kerns tallied a match-high six block assists.
 
South Dakota had six service aces compared to Omaha's one and 6.0 blocks to the Mavericks 4.0.
 
With the Coyotes up 6-4 in the first set, South Dakota went on a 10-4 run to take a 16-8 lead. Four different Coyotes tallied a kill during the run. Jessen had two as Reeg, Brown and Loschen each added one. Later in the set, Jessen swatted down another block to take a 20-12 lead and Omaha took a timeout. The Mavericks couldn't make a comeback as USD won the set 25-17 and took 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Set two was neck-and-neck as it was tied three times and had four lead changes. With the Coyotes down 9-7, USD scored three of the four next points to tie the set at 10. Reeg and Brown each had a kill and Reeg combined with Kerns for a block. With South Dakota up 17-16, the Coyotes used a 7-1 run to win the set 25-17 and take a 2-0 match lead. Reeg had two kills during the run, while Brown and Schmidt added one apiece. Freshman Kiley Hixson tallied a service ace and Reeg and Kerns ended the set with another block.
 
The Coyotes carried all the momentum into set three and jumped all over the Mavericks to take a 10-4 lead. USD kept the pressure on and never allowed Omaha to get within five points. Reeg ended the third set with a kill as the Coyotes won the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.
 
South Dakota continues the season at home and hosts Western Illinois Saturday night at 6 p.m.