OMAHA, Neb.—Juniors Kristina Susak and Hayley Dotseth led the South Dakota offense to a 3-1 victory on Saturday in Omaha with scores of 20-25, 25-20, 25-20 and 25-21. The win gives the Coyotes a three-game win streak.
 
Who Stood Out
Dotseth recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 19 kills and 21 digs, while Susak once again came out firing with a match-high and new career-high 22 kills. Senior Brittany Jessen marked her seventh double-double of the season with 49 assists and 11 digs.
 
On the defensive side, the Coyotes were led by reigning Summit League Defensive Player of the Week sophomore Anne Rasmussen with 32 digs, second most for her this season. Sophomore Mehana Fonseca added 13 digs to the efforts.
 
For the Mavericks, Mackenzie Horkey ended the night with a double-double recording 12 kills and 11 digs. Bella Sade led the offense for the Mavericks with 13 kills. Sydney O'Shaughnessy ended the night with 44 assists. Defensively, Claire Mountjoy led the Mavericks with 30 digs.  
 
Turning Point
After splitting sets one and two with the Mavericks, the Coyotes went to battle in the third set. A kill by Susak set up by Jessen would give the Coyotes a three-point cushion at 20-17 and USD would take set three 25-20 with yet another kill by Susak. South Dakota led the entire fourth set.
 
Quotable
"I am really proud of this team for the fight that they showed on the road tonight," Head Coach Leanne Williamson said. "We served the ball really well and had some huge defensive stops at big times in the game."
 
"Anne continues to impress in the back row anchoring our defense," Williamson said. "Kris and Hayley took a lot of big swings when our passing broke down and allowed us to sneak out a win."
 
Notable

• Rasmussen came into tonight's match ranked 31^st in the nation for digs per set averaging 5.12. She now stands with 5.30.
• Both Omaha and South Dakota came into tonight's match in a three-way tie for second place. After tonight's win, the Coyotes are in a tie for first with Oral Roberts, which is currently competing against Denver in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both currently stand at 4-1 in the league.

 
Up Next
South Dakota returns to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center to play South Dakota State at 7 p.m. Friday in the first event of the South Dakota Showdown Series.