VERMILLION, S.D. — The South Dakota volleyball team fell in straight sets Tuesday night to South Dakota State to close out the regular season. The Coyotes set a new Sanford Coyote Sports Center attendance record tonight with 2,810, beating the previous best of 2,774 set in the 2022 season when USD hosted Louisville.
 
Kylen Sealock paced the Coyotes in kills on the night with 12 and had three digs. Lauren Medeck notched 10 kills, two blocks and three digs. Amanda Loschen took park in a match-high four blocks, while Cheyenne Hlady and Morgan Bode had three each. Avery Van Hook dished out 29 assists and sits seven assists shy of hitting 2,000 helpers in her career.
 
The Jackrabbits scored eight straight points early in the first set to take an 11-3 advantage. The Yotes would answer with six of the next eight points to pull within four, 13-9, following a pair of kills from Hlady and a SDSU attack error. Sealock put away a kill and Alaina Wolff served an ace to pull USD within two, 16-14, but the Jacks would close out the set one win with a 9-2 run.
 
Sealock and Loschen were the driving force for the Coyote offense in the second set, as they each put away five kills and held a .312 and .364 swing rate, respectively. The second set was also the most productive from the Coyote block, led by Bode's three blocks and Hlady and Van Hook's two. Following a 5-1 USD run, the Coyotes were the first to 10 points, leading by two. Loschen was involved in four straight USD points in the middle of the set, with three kills and a block with Hlady to tie the set at 17-17. The score was tied three more times before SDSU scored two straight to win the frame 25-22.
 
Medeck found her groove in the third, putting away seven kills on 13 swings to go with a pair of blocks. With the Jacks holding a 6-3 lead, Medeck terminated five straight points for USD to pull within two, 10-8. SDSU, however, scored seven of the next nine to go up 18-11 and force a South Dakota timeout. The Yotes responded out of the break in action with a 5-1 run fueled by two kills and a block from Medeck. The Jacks would eventually reach match point, 24-18, and after two USD points, Slyvie Zgonc closed out the SDSU win with a kill.
 
South Dakota will enter the Summit League Volleyball Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will square off with host team Kansas City Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. at the Swinney Center in Kansas City, Mo.
 
Notes

• South Dakota ends the regular season with an 18-9 record and 10-6 conference mark
• The Coyotes set a new SCSC attendance record with 2,810 tonight
• Kylen Sealock closed out the regular season with double-digit kills in the final 12 matches
• Avery Van Hook dished out 29 assists on the night and sits seven assists away from 2,000 in her career
• Lauren Medeck had 10 kills on the night, her fourth game in the last five with 10 or more
• Kamryn Farris had a team-high 14 digs, her 26^th match of the season with 10 or more
• The Jacks registered a .311 hitting percentage while holding USD to a .169 clip
• The Yotes had more blocks than SDSU, 7-5