First Serve
South Dakota is set to host the Summit League Tournament after claiming the 2022 regular season title. The No. 4 seeded Coyotes will face the No. 5 seeded Bison in a quarterfinal matchup Sunday at 5 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The match will be available on Midco Sports and streamed on the Summit League Network on Midco Sports Plus.
 
The winner will advance to the semifinals on Monday and will face No. 1 seeded Kansas City at 7 p.m.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota (18-9, 12-4 Summit) clinched a share of the regular season title after reverse-sweeping South Dakota State on Nov. 14 in the regular season finale. It was the second time the Coyotes reverse-sept the Jackrabbits this season and the fourth time South Dakota has claimed a share of the regular season title.
 
Fifth-year senior Madison Harms was named the Summit League Player of the Year for the first time in her career on Saturday. She led the league throughout the season in hitting percentage (.375) and total blocks (134). The middle blocker recorded her 600^th career block earlier this season and is just four blocks away from owning the all-time career blocks record for the Summit League.
 
Junior Kylen Sealock was named to the all-Summit team for the first time in her career. She is currently the reigning Summit League Offensive Peak Performer of the Week after tallying a career-high 21 kills in South Dakota's reverse sweep of SDSU. On Nov. 11, the Yotes swept NDSU behind Sealock's previous career-high 18 kills on a .351 hitting clip. Sealock averages 3.31 kills per set and leads the league in service aces (43).
 
Freshman setter Avery Van Hook was named to the Summit all-freshman team after taking over as the starting setter at the beginning of the year. Van Hook has dished out 837 assists so far this season and had a career-high 58 assists in the win over SDSU on Nov. 14.
 
The Bison
North Dakota State (17-10, 9-7 Summit) enters the postseason on a three-match losing streak. The Bison fell to North Dakota in five sets in the regular season finale on Nov. 14.
 
Senior setter Kelley Johnson was named the Summit League Setter of the Year for the second straight season. She is the first Bison to earn the award in back-to-back seasons and leads the Summit with 1,059 assists so far this season. In league play, Johnson averaged a league-leading 10.63 assists per set.  
 
Outside hitter Ali Hinze earned a spot of the all-Summit team for the second consecutive season after averaging a league-best 3.68 kills per set in league play. Hinze has recorded double-digit kills in 24 matches this season and tallied a team-high 17 double-doubles. On Nov. 11, Hinze led NDSU against USD with nine kills, but the Bison fell in straight sets to the Coyotes.
 
One Last Thing
This year's tournament marks the second time South Dakota has hosted the Summit League tournament inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The Yotes are 76-15 inside the SCSC overall and 2-0 inside the SCSC in Summit League Tournament play.
 
Up Next
The winner of Sunday's 5 p.m. quarterfinal advances to the semifinal on Monday against No. 1 seeded Kansas City. First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.