TULSA, Okla.–South Dakota seniors
Taylor Wilson and
Hayley Dotseth tallied 18 kills apiece to lead the Coyotes to a 3-1 victory over Oral Roberts inside the Aerobics Center on Sunday.
The Golden Eagles (3-11, 0-2 Summit League) snuck away with the opening set, but the Coyotes came back with three-straight sets to win 24-26, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23. South Dakota (8-6, 2-0 Summit League) opens Summit play with a pair of road wins after knocking off North Dakota State on Friday.
"We are so excited to come back home with two wins after this road trip," said head coach
Leanne Williamson. "Winning on the road in this league is tough, especially with the distance between these two opponents. It took our whole team to pull out this win, and I am proud of how they worked together. It wasn't always our cleanest volleyball, but we made big plays down the stretch to close it out."
Wilson's 18 kills came with an impressive hitting percentage of .515 after 33 attempts. She also led the Coyotes with five block assists in the match. Wilson tallied her second-straight game with 18 or more kills, after recording a season high of 19 at North Dakota State.
Dotseth posted her ninth double-double of the season with 18 kills and 16 digs. She swatted down the match-winning points in sets three and four against the Golden Eagles.
Junior outside hitter
Elizabeth Loschen added her fifth double-figure game of the season with 10 kills.
Redshirt-freshman setter
Madison Jurgens kept the offense going with 46 assists. She also posted a season-best four blocks.
Defensively, junior libero
Anne Rasmussen paced the Coyotes with 30 digs. She added four of South Dakota's nine service aces in the match.
"Taylor was very good for us today," Williamson added. "Annie was scrappy on the defensive end and had played confidently these first two matches. We are happy to start 2-0 in the league, but know that we have things to continue to work on so that we are the best we can be come Friday."
Oral Roberts was led by CeCe Madison's 23 kills and 17 digs. Inka Inkret and Morgan Blomquist added 11 and 10 kills, respectively, for the Golden Eagles. This marks ORU's first season without 2017 Summit League Player of the Year Laura Milos, who the Golden Eagles lost to graduation.
The Coyotes return to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for a three-game home stand. South Dakota hosts Purdue Fort Wayne in its Summit home opener at 7 p.m. Friday in Vermillion.
