BOZEMAN, Mont. — South Dakota volleyball grinded out a five-set win over Montana State Saturday night to pick up its first win of the season.
 
With the momentum up for grabs late in the fifth and final set, an Audrey Nelson kill evened the score at 9-9. From there Lauren Medeck took over for the Yotes and swung the match in favor of the Yotes. Medeck recorded kills on five of the final six Coyote points to close out the final frame 15-12 in favor of the Yotes.
 
After falling in the first set, the Yotes jumped out to a 6-0 advantage early in the second frame behind an ace from Kamryn Farris and a pair of kills from both Medeck and Nelson. The Yotes extended their lead to 10, 13-3, following three straight USD points off kills from Morgan Bode, Ava Ball and an ace from Medeck. The Yotes closed out a dominating second set, 25-13, behind a .364 hitting percentage while holding the Bobcats to a .176 clip.
 
After the Bobcats opened the third set with four straight points, Medeck started a six-point swing for the Yotes with a kill while Farris kept the momentum flowing with two aces. The set was closely contested, until the midway point when USD used an 8-2 run to move to set point, 24-17. Amanda Loschen moved the match to 2-1 in favor of the Yotes with a kill. The Yotes hit at a .333 rate in the third, behind five kills on seven swings from Bode and held MSU to 12 kills on a .139 hit rate.
 
The Bobcats took the first and fourth frames in a pair of sets where neither team hit above .200. The Yotes took a slight edge in the first set, 15-12, but the Bobcats battled back to 24-24 and scored the final five points of the set to take it 26-24. The fourth set saw a string of runs from both sides late as Montana State put together a 7-0 run, but the Yotes answered with a 5-1 swing to pull ahead by one, 22-21. Montana State pushed the match to a fifth set by scoring the final four points of the frame.
 
Farris led a Coyote squad that recorded 13 aces with a career-high six aces. She also added a team high 25 digs to go with 13 assists to secure her second career double-double. Van Hook dished out 43 assists and 19 digs for her second straight double-double.
 
Medeck also notched a double-double with a match-high 19 kills and 15 digs, while Bode added 12 kills and six blocks.
 
South Dakota closes out its time in Bozeman tomorrow with a match against Prairie View A&M beginning at Noon CT.  
 
Notes

• The Yotes secured its first win of the season and move to 3-0 all-time against Montana State
• Kamryn Farris served up a new career high of six aces and secured her second double-double with 25 digs and 13 assists
• Farris' 13 assists matched a career high she set last year in the Summit League Tournament Championship match
• Medeck led the Yotes with 19 kills and 15 digs for 14^th career double-double
• Medeck tied her career high with three aces, a mark she's now hit three times
• Ava Ball reached double-digit kills for the first time in her young career with 12 on the night
• The Yotes had four players reach double-digit kills and three tally 15 or more digs
• Amanda Loschen tallied 11 kills with a .417 hitting percentage, her second match in a row with a attack rate higher than .390
• Sam Untiedt tallied two aces for the second match in a row
• The Yotes recorded 13 aces as a team, the first time they've recorded 10 or more since October 26, 2024 against Kansas City