VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota volleyball returns to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Thursday night at 7 p.m. to face St. Thomas for its Pink Out match presented by Sanford. The Coyotes will then travel to Omaha for a meeting with the Mavericks at noon.
 
Where To Watch
·       South Dakota's matches this week will be streamed on the Summit League Network on Midco Sports Plus.
·       Trevan Rychlik will be on the call for Thursday's home match against St. Thomas.
 
Key Storylines
·       South Dakota returns to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for the eighth time this year and for the second time in the Summit League season Thursday against St. Thomas. The Yotes then head to Omaha to face the Mavericks on Saturday.
·       The Yotes are 4-4 over their last eight matches and have alternated wins and losses over that stretch. Prior to this stretch of matches, USD had won four straight.
·       The Coyotes held an 8-4 record following the nonconference slate where they matched up with two Power 4 opponents and five teams that appeared in the 2024 NCAA National Tournament (Oregon, Kansas, Colgate, FGCU and Wichita State)
·       USD's P4 matchups featured two teams in the AVCA top-25 or receiving votes in current #15 Kansas and then RV Oregon.
·       The Coyote backrow is among the NCAA's elite ranking No. 10 nationally in digs per set at 17.25. USD ranks No. 38 in total digs with 966. USD leads the Summit League in both categories.
·       USD's offense ranks No. 28 in assists per set (12.77), No. 27 in attacks per set (36.79) and No. 33 in kills per set (13.75).
·       Morgan Bode was a brick wall at the net at Denver Saturday as she set a new four-set program record with 13 total blocks (3 solo).
·       Bode's block total against Denver is tied for the third most in a single four-set match this season in the NCAA.
·       The reigning Summit League Defensive Player of the Year, Kamryn Farris, leads the Summit League in total digs (279) and digs per set (4.98). She ranks 15th in the NCAA in digs per set and No. 23 in total digs.
·       Farris has been named the Summit League Kwik Star Defensive Peak Performer of the Week in four of the first six weeks of the season.
·       In year two with the Yotes, Lauren Medeck continues to build off a strong freshman season last year, as she leads the conference in kills (220) and total points (243.0).
·       The floor general, Avery Van Hook, paces the conference with 578 total assists. She also leads the league with a 10.32 assists per set average. Van Hook is No. 19 in the NCAA in assists and No. 19 in assists per set.
·       Van Hook also ranks No. 7 in the conference in digs with 178 and No. 9 in digs per set (3.18).
·       When out of system, the Yotes have turned to Farris who has tallied 83 assists on the season. She has a pair of double-doubles already on the season (digs and assists).
·       Leanne Williamson is in year 12 as the head coach at USD and holds a program best 240-107 record.
 
Bode's Block Party
·       Morgan Bode set a new four-set program record at Denver last Saturday with 13 total blocks.
·       It was a new career high for Bode and the first time recording double-digit blocks.
·       She was especially dominant in the second set win with seven total blocks (2 solo).
·       Bode became the first Coyote with 10+ blocks in a single match since Madison Harms in 2023 vs Drake (12).
·       Bode ranks No. 4 in the Summit League in blocks (59), No. 4 in solo blocks (11) and No. 5 in blocks per set (1.09).
·       The sophomore sits 15 blocks away from 200 in her career.
 
The Minis
·       The Coyote backline has been amongst the NCAA's best this season.
·       The Yotes rank No. 10 in the nation in digs per set at 17.25 and No. 38 in total digs with 966. USD leads the Summit League in both categories.
·       The Yotes have two players in the top-10 in the Summit League rankings in total digs. Kamryn Farris leads the conference (279), while Avery Van Hook is No. 7 (178) and Lauren Medeck is just outside at No. 11 (149).
·       Freshman Sierra Pokharel is No. 14 in the league with 133 digs.
·       Farris is the only player in the Summit League averaging over 4.0 digs per set at 4.98.

Home Sweet Home
·       The Coyotes have excelled on their home court under Williamson with a 101-26 record.
·       Prior to the 2016 season, the Yotes played in 'The Coyote Den' in the DakotaDome.
·       Beginning in 2016, South Dakota has called the Sanford Coyote Sports Center home and have accumulated a 78-17 overall record and 52-12 mark in Summit League Matches.
·       A new addition to the SCSC in 2024 was the addition of the Teraflex floor in the SCSC. The Yotes became the third Summit League school to utilize a Teraflex floor.
·       Since the 2019 season, the Coyotes have ranked inside or just outside the top-50 nationally for average home attendance.
·       The Coyotes highest ranking for home attendance average was the 2021 season when they ranked No. 40 in the NCAA.
·       *The Yotes ranked No. 14 in the NCAA during the adjusted 2020-21 season due to COVID.
·       USD ranked 50th a season ago in home attendance and set a new SCSC program record with 2,810 fans taking in the match between South Dakota and South Dakota State on Nov. 19, 2024.
 
Killin' it Efficiently
·       Amanda Loschen has been as efficient as anyone in the Summit League so far this season as she leads the conference with a .361 hitting percentage. (minimum 10 attempts per match).
·       Loschen has five double-digit kill matches this season and has swung at a .300 clip in 11 matches. She has five matches at a .400+ clip.
·       Loschen has hit above .500 in each of the last two matches.
·       In the most recent outing, Loschen tallied 11 kills with no errors for a .579 hitting percentage and put away nine kills, with no errors, on 14 swings for a .643 clip in a sweep of ORU.
·       She put away eight kills on 15 swings with just one error for a .467% in the sweep of Ball State and had two solo blocks.
·       Loschen also recorded a .400+ attack percentage in the five-set win over Montana State with 11 kills on 24 swings.

Fast Starts
·       Under head coach Leanne Williamson, the Coyotes have been extremely successful when getting out to fast starts in matches.
·       The Yotes are 187-21 since 2014 when they've won the first set in a match.
·       South Dakota has won 25 straight matches after taking the first set and went 14-0 in 2024.
·       When taking the first two sets in a match, USD is 134-4 under Williamson and has won 28 straight.
·       The Coyotes started fast against Oral Roberts Saturday, and made quick work of the third set with a 25-8 set win to close the sweep.
·       The eight points allowed in the third set was the lowest total scored by an opponent in a set this season.