VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota (12-1) received a career-high 28 kills from Elizabeth Juhnke and a match-high 19 digs from Lolo Weideman in a five-set victory over Omaha in the first night of Summit League play. Game one scores went 25-22, 16-25, 18-25, 27-25, 16-14.
 
Who Stood Out
Juhnke added 11 digs to her season-high and match-high 28 kills to tally her seventh double-double on the season. Her 28 kills are the sixth-highest total in program history and are the most kills in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Brooklyn Schram totaled 42 assists combined with her 18 digs to put up her fifth double-double of the year while Weideman added three service aces to her 19 digs. Madison Harms and Aimee Adams each added eight kills for the Coyotes, while Harms put up seven blocks. Adam's .316 hitting percentage led the team in addition to her six blocks. Defensive specialist Alaina Wolff totaled a season-high 13 digs for South Dakota.
 
Omaha received a match-high 57 assists from Sami Clarkson, who also added five blocks. Marriah Buss totaled 21 kills for the Mavericks while Kali Jurgensmeier and McKenna Ruch each followed with 12 kills. Ruch also put up a match-high 10 blocks and hit .345 on the night. Jaiden Centeno totaled 17 digs for Omaha while Rachel Fairbanks added 13 digs.
 
Turning Point
The Coyotes came out strong in set one, with Juhnke putting down nine of her 28 kills with just one error to hit .615. Sets two and three went to Omaha, whose solid block presence at the net held South Dakota to .267.
 
Set four saw the Coyotes spurred back to life, with USD taking an early 9-1 lead that included six straight points. A kill from Omaha's Shayla McCormick ended South Dakota's run and gave the Mavericks the boost they needed to fight back. A kill from Morgan DeBow followed by an attack error from Schram brought Omaha within two with the Coyotes leading 20-18. The Mavericks survived three set points for the Coyotes before a kill from Adams and an attack error from Morgan DeBow forced a fifth set.
 
Omaha took an early 5-2 lead in set five to force a USD timeout. With the Coyotes trailing 6-4, Laura Petterson subbed in and served six straight points for South Dakota to give them an 8-6 advantage at the side switch. The Mavericks had kills from Jurgensmeier and McCormick to come within one at 12-11 and force a South Dakota timeout. A service ace from Weideman and another kill from Juhnke energized the Coyotes, but the Mavericks were able to survive four match points before Juhnke's 28^th kill sealed the win for South Dakota.
 
Notable

• Through five sets, there were 15 tie scores, including seven in the first set, but just three lead changes.
• Juhnke hit .615 in set one, putting down nine kills with just one error.
• Wolff's 13 digs are a USD career-high and her season-high.
• Adam's .316 hitting percentage led the Coyotes, as she had eight kills with just two errors.
• The Coyotes have now won 12 straight matches, five of which have been five-set battles.
• With the win, head coach Leanne Williamson now has 100 Summit League wins. 

 
Quotable
"Sometimes you just have to find a way to win," said head coach Leanne Williamson. "I don't think it was our cleanest match, but we found a way to do just enough to come out with victory. I think that's important, especially as we continue into the season. We are not always going to play our best volleyball, we're going to struggle, but we need to be able to learn and get better."
 
Up Next
South Dakota hosts Denver on Saturday at 4:45 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.