VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota closes out the regular season at home Tuesday night hosting North Dakota State in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center at 7 p.m.
 
Quick Hitters

• Head coach Leanne Williamson made Summit League history as she became the winningest coach in conference history with 249 overall wins and 147 Summit League wins. 
• The Coyotes are holding opponents to the second lowest hitting percentage in conference play at .170, only trailing SDSU (.142).
• USD leads the conference in digs per set during conference play (15.50), are No. 3 in kills per set (13.18) and No. 3 in blocks per set (2.12).
• The Coyote backrow is among the NCAA's elite ranking No. 20 nationally in digs per set at 16.50. USD ranks No. 29 in total digs with 1,733. USD leads the Summit League in both categories.
• USD's offense, directed by Avery Van Hook, ranks No. 65 in assists per set (12.45), No. 47 in attacks per set (36.52) and No. 58 in kills per set (13.50).
• The reigning Summit League Defensive Player of the Year, Kamryn Farris, leads the Summit League in total digs (489) and digs per set (4.66). She ranks 35th in the NCAA in digs per set and No. 27 in total digs.
• Farris was on lockdown for the Yotes to start the season as she was named the Summit League Kwik Star Defensive Peak Performer of the Week in four of the first five weeks.
• The floor general, Avery Van Hook, paces the conference with 1,063 total assists. She reached 3,000 career assists earlier this season in the Coyotes sweep of St. Thomas.
• On the season, Van Hook is No. 3 in the conference with a 10.12 assists per set average. Van Hook is No. 17 in the NCAA in assists and No. 36 in assists per set.
• Amanda Loschen continues to terminate at a high efficiency as she's hitting .336 with 227 kills on the season. During Summit League play, Loschen is hitting .336 with 121 kills.
• When out of system, the Yotes have turned to Farris who has tallied 150 assists on the season. She has three of double-doubles already on the season (digs and assists). 
• Morgan Bode was a brick wall at the net at Denver on October 4, 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. 
• Freshman Ava Ball lead the Yotes on the outside against South Dakota State last Saturday with a new career-high of 17 kills on a .300 hitting percentage and had two aces and six digs. 
• Sierra Pokharel has tallied eight aces across the last three matches and ranks No. 3 on the team with 29 on the season.
• Following last week's win over Omaha, the Coyotes moved to 8-0 on the season in matches following a loss. 
• Leanne Williamson is in year 12 as the head coach at USD and holds a program best 250-109 record.

Where To Watch

• Tuesday's regular season finale between the Coyotes and Bison can be found on the Summit League Network and Midco Sports Plus. Daniel Ver Steeg will be on the call for the match. 

With a Win

• With a win in Tuesday's match, the Coyotes will secure their 12th win in Summit League play this season, marking the ninth time the team has won 12 conference games under head coach Leanne Williamson.
• A victory would also be the 20th win of the season, which would be the seventh time with Williamson at the helm.

Looking Ahead

• With Saturday's 3-2 win at Oral Roberts, the Coyotes have locked up the No. 2 seed in the Summit League Tournament Championship.
• The Coyotes will open the tournament on Monday, November 24 at 3 p.m. in Brookings, South Dakota against the winner of the 3/6 seed match on Sunday. 
• More information on the Summit League Championship can be found on the Summit League website.

Made History

• Head coach Leanne Williamson made Summit League history last week as she became the winningest coach in conference history with 249 overall wins and 147 Summit League wins. 
• In 12 seasons at the helm, she has amassed a 248-109 record and 148-44 record in the conference. 
• Since taking over as the bench boss in 2014, the Coyotes have won over 15 games each year and 20+ six times. The Yotes put together a 31-3 record in the 2019 season, including a perfect 16-0 record in Summit League play.
• South Dakota has now won 10 or more Summit League matches in 11 of the last 12 seasons under Williamson. 
• In each of the last seven seasons, the Coyotes have won either the Summit League regular season or tournament championship. The 2022 season saw USD accumulate a 29-4 record (16-2 SL) and claimed the Summit League title in the regular season and postseason tournament. 

Ball Out

• Freshman Ava Ball set a new career-high a couple weeks ago in the Yotes loss to SDSU with 17 kills on a .300 clip. 
• It was Ball's seventh double-digit kill match of the Summit League season and 10th of the season. 
• She has had an ace in each of the last five matches and had a career-high of three Saturday against Kansas City.
• She has six matches on the year with a .300+ hitting percentage.  

Heating up on the Outside

• Audrey Nelson was on fire at the pin a couple weeks ago as she swung at a .450+ clip in all three matches (10/21-25). 
• Nelson started the week with nine kills and just one error for a .471 swing rate in a four-set win over NDSU.
• She matched her career-high of 12 kills in a 3-1 win over Denver Thursday. After Denver took the first set, Nelson was key in the Coyote attack over sets 2-4 as she put away 11 kills on 12 swings with no errors. 
• In the sweep of UND Saturday, she posted her second straight errorless match with seven kills on 15 swings (.467%).
• Nelson has tallied double-digit kills in each of the last four matches and in five of the last six. 

Bode's Block Party

• Morgan Bode set a new four-set program record at Denver (Oct. 4) 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 (105), No. 4 in solo blocks (20) and No. 5 in blocks per set (1.03). 
• The sophomore eclipsed 200 career blocks earlier this season.

Dropping Dimes

• Avery Van Hook ranks No. 17 across the NCAA with 1,063 assists on the season and No. 36 in assists per set (10.12).
• Van Hook has guided the Yotes to a 13.18 kills per set average during Summit League play which ranks No. 3 in the conference.

Winning Traditions

• Over the past seven seasons, the Coyotes have seen their fair share of success with either a Summit League Regular Season or Tournament Championship in each of those seven seasons. 
• In 2022, South Dakota was crowned the regular season champions after posting a 16-2 league record and also claimed the tournament championship. It was the first time in program history, the Yotes claimed both titles in the same season. 
• From 2020-22 the Coyotes won three straight conference tournaments and have five postseason titles in the last seven seasons.
• USD became the first Summit League team to win the postseason title as the No. 3 seed or higher, winning three games in three days. 
• The Coyotes have made five appearances at the NCAA D1 National Tournament, most recently in 2024 when the Yotes faced No. 2 seeded Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska.