BROOKINGS, S.D. — With the second point of the Interstate Series, presented by First Interstate Bank, up for grabs tonight from First Bank & Trust Arena in Brookings, it would be the Jackrabbits who secured the point with a 3-2 victory over South Dakota on the home court Saturday night.
 
Ava Ball had a career night with 17 kills to pace the team, while Samantha Laird tied her career-best with her 12 kills on the match. Audrey Nelson posted her first-career ace in the effort.
 
The first set proved to be a battle in Brookings as both teams hit nearly .300 on the set. The Coyotes had 18 kills to SDSU's 11 in the first set as the Yotes would pull out the close set, 25-22. Leading 12-10 in the opening set, a dump kill from setter Avery Van Hook would spark a run for USD, who went on a four-point run to push their lead to 16-11. The Yotes would lead 22-19 later in the set at the Jacks wouldn't go away. Following a USD timeout, South Dakota would score three of the last five points of the set to take set one.
 
South Dakota State would respond in the second set. The Jackrabbits would hit a blistering .535 in the second set and would control the set from start to finish, scoring the first three points and not looking back, as SDSU would even the match with a 25-13 set two victory.
 
The momentum would continue to gather steam into the third set but it would be South Dakota who fought back. South Dakota State would go on a small run, scoring six of seven points midway through the set to take a 12-9 lead. USD would battle back to make it 12-12 with three-straight points. The two teams would trade points for the rest of the set with no team leading by more than three the rest of the set, but it would be SDSU taking the set 25-22 to take the 2-1 match lead.
 
South Dakota would respond in set four with a 25-19 win to send it to a winner-take-all fifth set for the second Interstate Series point of the 2025 season. It would be a pretty even start to the set, knotted up at 8-8 when a kill from Ball would spark a mini spurt for the Yotes. With USD leading 17-16, another Kill from Ball would spark the Yotes who scored four of the next five points to lead 21-17. State would try to claw back but three-straight kills from South Dakota would see the Yotes push it to the fifth set.
 
The final set of the night would be 4-4 early, but the Jacks, spurred on by the home crowd and the block, would score four-straight points to make it 8-4. South Dakota State would keep the pressure on, despite USD's best efforts to claw back. At one point, South Dakota came within three points at 10-7 but two-straight points from SDSU would see them eventually pull away for the 15-8 set five victory.
 
On the night, Morgan Bode posted another eight blocks to sit tied for the game-high on the match and was one of four Yotes with double-digit kills with 10. Van Hook had a match-high 45 assists and Kamryn Farris had a match0high 15 digs.
 
Up Next: South Dakota returns home next week with a pair of home matches from the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, starting with a clash with the Omaha Mavericks at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 6.