VERMILLION, S.D. — The Coyotes won the first set but would fall in four to South Dakota State Saturday night in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
While kills were relatively even at 54-49 in the Jackrabbits favor, the difference in the contest was the Jacks' 17 blocks to USD's seven.
 
Lauren Medeck paced the Yotes with 14 kills, while Amanda Loschen was the other Coyote in double-figures with 11 kills at a .296 clip. SDSU's Slyvie Zgonc led all players with 21 kills at a .347 attack rate, while Sydni Schetnan had nine blocks.
 
South Dakota grabbed the first set by a 25-22 score behind a Coyote attack that saw three players with four kills apiece in Loschen, Morgan Bode and Medeck. Bode and Loschen both hit over .570 in the first frame. The Jacks had the block going early with seven in the opening frame, but USD still outhit them .237-.194. A set that saw 14 tied scores and six lead changes was tightly contested throughout. The Yotes were the first to put together a lengthy run with a 5-1 spurt to go up 17-14. SDSU answered with a 5-1 run of their own, but the Yotes closed out the frame scoring seven of the final 10 points.
 
Loschen continued her hot start to the match by putting down four more kills on six errorless swings. SDSU held a 16-10 lead near the halfway point of the set and held the Yotes at bay by not allowing a run of more than two straight points throughout the set. The Yotes had more kills in the second (13-12) but the Jacks were more efficient (.321-.171) and had four blocks.
 
Medeck got the Yotes rolling early in the third with kills for the first three Coyote points and Ball's second kill of the set put USD up 9-7. The Jacks, however, used a 7-1 run to pull ahead 14-10 and would hold the lead the rest of the way. South Dakota made a late push to cut the deficit to 22-18 off back-to-back blocks and a kill from Audrey Nelson, a kill from the Jacks and two straight Coyote errors moved SDSU up 2-1 in the match.
 
The Yotes got out early in the fourth for the second straight set with a 5-2 lead, but behind a .438 hitting percentage the Jacks would take the fourth set 25-19. The team's stayed within three points of each other until five straight from the Jacks put them ahead 18-13. The Yotes would battle, making the score 21-19, with a 5-1 run after a block from Loschen and Nelson and Loschen's 11^th kill of the match. SDSU scored the next four to take the set and the match 3-1.
 
South Dakota has three matches on next week's schedule starting on Tuesday in Fargo, North Dakota against North Dakota State. USD returns to the SCSC for a pair of matches against Denver and North Dakota on Thursday and Saturday.
 
Notes

• The Coyotes move to 12-7 on the season, 4-3 in the Summit League and 6-3 in true road matches
• The attendance for tonight's match was 2,408, making it the fourth straight year with a home match with an attendance of 2,000+
• Kamryn Farris led all players with 23 digs
• It was Farris' second straight match and eighth of the season with 20+
• SDSU's .279 hitting percentage was the second highest by an opponent this season (.279)