BOZEMAN, Mont. — South Dakota volleyball fell in the season opener Friday night in four sets to RV Oregon in Shroyer Gym.
 
Avery Van Hook led South Dakota in assists with 41 and digs with a career-high matching 20. Amanda Loschen led the way offensively with 12 kills on a .391 hitting percentage to go with four blocks (two solo). Audrey Nelson followed Loschen with nine kills at a .292 clip with three rejections. Samantha Untiedt registered a pair of service aces in her first action as a Yote, while freshman Ava Ball put away eight kills on 16 swings in just two sets of action.
 
The first set of the match between South Dakota and Oregon saw several momentum shifts. While the Yotes built an early 3-1 lead, the Ducks scored seven of the next nine to pull ahead 8-5. Oregon would push its advantage to 13-6, but the Yotes would battle and narrow the gap to 20-16 with a 5-0 run. The five-point swing saw two blocks and a kill from Morgan Bode and a service ace from Sam Untiedt. USD cut the lead to three, 21-18, off back-to-back kills from Bode and Lauren Medeck, but the Ducks would close out set one 25-21.
 
The Yotes bounced back in the second set, controlling the lead from start to finish with the scoring tying just once at 5-5. Looking to pull away in the middle of the set, a solo block from Amanda Loschen followed by an Avery Van Hook ace started a 5-1 run. The Ducks responded with four unanswered points, but another 5-1 Coyote run gave USD an 18-13 edge. With the Yotes on set point, the Ducks scored four straight to pull within two, 24-22, but Medeck closed out the set with her seventh kill of the match to that point. The Yotes outhit Oregon .286 to .241 in the frame.
 
Ava Ball entered the match in the third set for the first time of her collegiate career and made an immediate impact to the offense with seven kills. As a team, the third set was the Coyotes best hitting set, as they put down 19 kills with a .359 hitting percentage. Oregon countered with 15 kills and a .324 hitting percentage. The set was the most contested set of the four with the lead changing hands twice but the score tying on 11 occasions. Samantha Laird scored two straight points for USD with kills, that would tie the frame at 23-23, but two straight points for Oregon would send the match to a fourth frame with the Ducks leading 2-1.  
 
The Ducks lead the fourth set from start to finish by putting away 12 kills on a .176 clip while holding USD to a -.063 hitting percentage.
 
South Dakota returns to action tomorrow night at Shroyer Gym at 6:00 p.m. CT to face host team Montana State.
 
Notes

• Oregon secured the first win in the series between the Coyotes and Ducks
• Van Hook matched her career high with 20 digs, the second time in her career reaching that mark. It's Van Hook's 34^th career double-double
• Loschen led the Yotes in kills (12) and blocks (4), while Van Hook led the team in assists (41) and digs (20)
• Three newcomers made their Coyote debuts tonight in Ava Ball, Sam Untiedt and Sierra Pokharel