VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota volleyball picked up win No. 15 of the season Saturday with a 3-1 victory over Kansas City in the Swinney Center.
 
Kamryn Farris was all over the back row for the Coyotes with 28 digs in the match, her second highest dig total of the season. Avery Van Hook (12) and Alaina Wolff (10) also notched double-digit digs. Van Hook handed out 45 assists and was involved in the Yotes attack with seven kills of her own.
 
Kylen Sealock paced the Coyotes with 18 kills on a .368 clip and had one block. Morgan Bode terminated 11 balls and Amanda Loschen had 10 kills. Bode was the Yotes block leader with four (two solo).
 
"I am really proud of this group for how we handled this stretch of matches," said head coach Leanne Williamson. "In this second half, every match is going to be very tough, and we stayed the course today and found ways to win. We were dominant in set one in every aspect of the game.  We got very high error in the second set but made some good changes in sets 3 and 4."
 
The Coyotes started fast in the match, taking a 25-8 decision in the first set behind 15 kills at a .583 clip. The Yotes held the Roos to just five kills and a -.071 hitting percentage in the opener. The Coyotes raced out to a 13-2 lead following a Cora Hokenstad ace and Sealock kill. Farris also had a service ace and Sealock terminated three points in the early run. Cheyenne Hlady put down three of the final five Coyote points in the first, and USD scored four straight to close out the set one win.
 
In the first set, Sealock registered four kills on eight swings, Hlady had four on five attacks and Bode was a perfect three-for-three.
 
The Roos responded in the second set, putting away 12 kills at a .294 clip while the Yotes committed 10 hitting errors. The teams spent the majority of the set trading points, with neither team holding a lead above four points. After kills from Bode and Sealock, the score was knotted at 20-20. However, a pair of Coyote errors would give the Roos a 23-21 lead, and after trading points, KC won 25-23.
 
Bode and Samantha Laird teamed up for an early 4-0 run in set three with a kill and a solo block from Bode and a pair of kills from Laird, and USD took a 8-3 lead. Kansas City would keep the score close, but the Coyotes were the ones who held the lead throughout the set. Carrying a 21-17 lead late, a Laird kill started a four-point run for USD that ended with a Bode ace and Loschen kill that would put the Yotes up 2-1 in the match. Laird led the Yotes with five kills in the third, followed by Loschen's four.
 
Farris' strong play continued in the fourth set, as she dug up 10 balls, had one service ace and three assists in the frame. Three Yotes swung at a .500 percent rate or higher in the final frame in Laird with three kills at .500, Bode with three at .750 and Van Hook tallied three kills on three attacks. Caity Clancy tallied two of her three aces in the match in the fourth, including the match winning point.
 
"This was definitely a team win and we had many players step up today to score points in different ways," said Williamson. "Sam and Caity came in off the bench to contribute in the second half of the match and made their presence known. Kylen had another great day offensively as she continues to lead us. We are going to celebrate this win and then take a much needed day off to reset physically as a team. I'm excited to see how this team continues to grow over the course of the next couple weeks!"
 
South Dakota returns to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for a pair of games next week starting with North Dakota on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
 
Notes

• South Dakota improves to 15-6 on the season and 7-3 in Summit League play
• The Coyotes have won five of their last six matches
• Kamryn Farris has reached double-digit dig totals in 15 straight matches and 20 or more in five of the last six
• Farris' 28 digs is the second highest single-game total this year (30 vs. Drake on 9/20/24)
• Sealock has put away double-digit kills in her last six matches, and is averaging 17.8 across that span
• Amanda Loschen has terminated double-digit kills in four straight matches and in all of those contests she has swung at a .300 rate or higher
• USD moves to 11-0 when winning the first set
• Avery Van Hook notched her 12^th double-double of the season with 45 assists and 12 digs
• Caity Clancy set a new career-high today with three service aces
• The Coyotes served double-digit aces (10) for the second time this season