VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota junior Elizabeth Juhnke tied a program record with 24 kills in a three-set match as the Coyotes swept Oral Roberts Thursday night inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Scores went 25-15, 25-19, 25-16.
 
It is the fourth win in a row for South Dakota, which improved to 17-2 overall and stayed atop the Summit League standings at 6-1. It was the team's first home match since Sept. 24. The Coyotes are 8-1 against Oral Roberts since the start of the 2018 season.
 
Who Stood Out
You don't have to dig deep into the box score when you feature the nation's scoring leader. Juhnke was on fire from the onset and never let up until Coach Leanne Williamson subbed her out late in the match. All the more impressive was a season-high hitting percentage of .524 (24-2-42). She dug up 11 balls and blocked three more for good measure. It was her 12^th double-double of the season.
 
For Oral Roberts, it was senior setter Kalena Vaivai, who notched her sixth double-double this season. Vaivai had a team-high 12 digs and assisted on 19 of Oral Roberts' 26 kills. She had one block and three kills on six attempts.
 
Turning Point
South Dakota opened the match on a 17-3 run that truly set the tone. Kamryn Farris and Brooklyn Schram combined for four ace serves during the start. Juhnke had eight kills including four in a row that forced an Oral Roberts' timeout. South Dakota hit .250 in the first set and had five of its nine aces there.
 
Oral Roberts found itself towards the end of the first set and scored the first four points of set two. South Dakota pulled even at 5-5 and used a 6-1 run midway through the set to regain control. The Coyotes' .387 hitting percentage in set two was their best. Aimee Adams had three of her five kills in set two for USD.
 
Notable

• Farris had a match-high 15 digs to pace the Coyotes' back line
• Coyote middle blocker Brynn Paumen had four block assists and USD had seven total blocks to five for the Golden Eagles
• Schram, who missed the last match against Western Illinois, returned to the lineup and dished out 30 assists. She added 11 digs and three blocks for her seventh double-double.
• Sakira LaCour, Kaia Dunford and Trinity Freeman had six kills apiece for Oral Roberts. LaCour hit .312 (6-1-16).

 
Quotable
"I'm really happy with the three set sweep," said Williamson. "We've been inching closer to figuring out who we are and what our potential may be as the season progresses. We've tried to focus on taking care of our side of the net, and building upon the things we've been working on these last couple of months.
 
"We started very strong in that first set, and that started with our serve. Defensively, we made some really big plays and were able to score with our transition offense. I think that set the tone for a match and we did a pretty good job of continuing to play at a high level."
 
Up Next
The Coyotes stay home to host Kansas City Saturday at 2 p.m. South Dakota will be wearing pink jerseys to raise awareness for breast cancer.