University of South Dakota Athletics

BROOKINGS, S.D. – For the second straight match, the South Dakota volleyball team found itself down 2-1 in the match, and for the second straight time, the Coyotes came out victorious with a 3-2 win over South Dakota State Friday night in the Interstate Series, presented by First Interstate Bank.  

In a night where Lauren Medeck eclipsed 900 kills in her Coyote career, the junior outside rewrote her career high with 25 kills to lead all players. Medeck also led the Yotes with 17 digs, had one block and hit .233 on the night. It was her third 20-plus kill match of the season and the second in USD's current seven-match win streak.

Avery Van Hook dished out 52 assists, her third time this season with 50 or more helpers, and tallied a double-double with 12 digs to go with four blocks and three kills. Sierra Pokharel recorded her eighth straight match with double-digit digs with 14 on the night, while Cora Hokenstad had 10. 

The Coyotes and Jackrabbits traded set for set to lead to the ultimate fifth set, a precursor for the first half of the final frame as both teams traded blow for blow leading to an 8-7 Coyote lead. Amanda Loschen's eighth kill of the match started a 5-0 run as the Coyotes took control of the deciding set. Back-to-back points for the Jackrabbits were quickly ended by Audrey Nelson's 13^th kill to move USD to set point, and a Jackrabbit attack error closed out the 3-2 win for the Yotes. 

Medeck and Gabi Zachariasen led the Yotes with seven combined kills in the fifth, as the Yotes would hit .391 while holding SDSU to a .174 clip. Avery Van Hook tallied six of the Yotes' 12 digs, while Zachariasen had an ace and a block. 

The first set saw multiple 4-0 or 4-1 runs, but it was the Jacks who held a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. The break, however, would benefit the Coyotes who stormed out with five straight points, behind three kills from Medeck and a kill and ace from Zachariasen, to pull ahead 18-15. The Jacks erased the Coyote lead and scored 10 of the final 14 points to take set one 25-22.

South Dakota flipped the momentum early in set two by sustaining a pair of lengthy runs to take a 15-10 lead into the media break. Nelson, who put away five kills on seven swings in the second set, put away kills on back-to-back USD points as the Yotes extended the lead to 19-11, following a Zachariasen ace. Following back-to-back errors from SDSU, the Yotes reached set point, and the match was knotted at 1-1 after a Zachariasen kill as USD won 25-17.

SDSU opened the third with four straight points, but the Yotes were first to double digits at 10-9 following a Morgan Bode ace. Five straight from the Jacks followed however, and they stayed in control the rest of the way to a 25-16 set win. 

Once again, the Coyotes responded to a set loss, this time behind the block led by Amanda Loschen's four blocks. The Coyotes, who had three blocks in the first three sets, totaled six blocks in the fourth set alone. Alongside the six blocks, USD's defense tallied 15 digs and held SDSU to a .000 hitting percentage. The Coyotes led for a majority of the fourth and widened its lead with a 7-1 run to go up 21-14. The Coyotes rejected the Jacks three times in the run, including a solo block by Avery Van Hook, and Bode dialed up her fourth ace of the night, a new career high. Medeck's 21^st kill of the night ended the fourth set with a 25-20 win for the Yotes to push the match to the fifth.

South Dakota held the advantage in kills (66-51), aces (8-3), digs (75-69) and hitting percentage (.190-.180), while the Jacks had more blocks (17-10).

South Dakota improved to 14-5 on the year and 7-1 in the Summit League. The Coyotes extended their win streak to seven matches and are now 7-1 in true road matches.  

The Coyotes return to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center next week for a pair of matches against Omaha on Thursday and St. Thomas on Saturday.