LARAMIE, Wyo.–-South Dakota earned its first win of the season by topping Abilene Christian in straight sets, 25-22, 25-20 and 25-23, Saturday on the final day of the Rumble in the Rockies tournament hosted by University of Wyoming. Earlier in the day, Portland defeated the Coyotes 25-17, 25-23, 25-17.
 
South Dakota junior Hayley Dotseth registered double-doubles in all three matches during the event. She had 14 kills and 11 digs against Portland (2-0), and had 11 kills and 10 digs against Abilene Christian (1-2). Coyote setter Brittany Jessen earned her first double-double of the year with 42 assists and 13 digs in the win against the Wildcats.
 
"We didn't compete well against a tough team earlier in the day," said USD Head Coach Leanne Williamson. "We allowed them to control the pace. We got back to who we want to be in the evening match. We were scrappy on defense and served aggressively. We committed a lot of errors, but we learned we can overcome mistakes when we play as a unit."
 
Portland got 10 kills each from Reghan Pukis and Hannah Troutman against USD. Sarah Savoca added six more. The Pilots had three blocks in the third set and six for the match. Portland had seven aces while the Coyotes (1-2) ended the match with two.
 
Coyote junior Rachel Schmidt had 12 kills against Portland, and came back with a match-high 17 kills in the win against Abilene Christian. The trio of Jessen, Taylor Wilson and Elizabeth Loschen combined for 19 kills against three errors in helping the Coyotes to the win.
 
Abilene Christian hit just .140 against the Yotes, but got 12 kills from Katelyn Mueller and 21 digs from Amanda Chapa. The Coyotes countered with 21 digs from libero Anne Rasmussen, who averaged a team-best 4.56 digs per set during the opening weekend.
 
South Dakota heads to the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i, and takes the court at 9:45 p.m. Thursday against Utah.