VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota volleyball looks to extend its seven-match win streak this week when it welcomes Omaha and St. Thomas to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center this week.

How to Follow

• Both matches this week are available on Midco Sports Plus  and the Summit League Network.
• Live stats can be found at yote.us/stats.

Quick Hitters

• Since the calendar flipped to October, the Coyotes have been on a roll with a seven-match win streak to take sole possession of first place in the Summit League standings with a 7-1 record. 
• Historically under Williamson, the month of October has been the Coyotes best month with an 80-21 record (79.2%) and have won 10 straight dating back to last October.
• The Coyotes seven match win streak started with the Tommies and Mavericks. The Yotes went on the road following a loss to SDSU to kick off conference play, before sweeping both Omaha and St. Thomas on the road.
• South Dakota ranks No. 5 in the NCAA in digs per set at 17.10 behind three Coyotes averaging 3.0+ digs/set in Sierra Pokharel (3.97), Avery Van Hook (3.37) and Lauren Medeck (3.33).
• Lauren Medeck set a new career-high with 25 kills in Friday's win at South Dakota State and has reached double-digit kills in every match during USD's seven-match win streak.
• The Coyotes rank No. 1 in the conference in points per set (17.73), assists per set (13.20), kills per set (14.00) and digs per set (17.80). Amanda Loschen paces the league with a .345 hitting percentage, Avery Van Hook is No. 1 at 11.32 assists/set and Sierra Pokharel is the only player averaging our four digs per set at 4.23.
• Since opening in 2016, the Sanford Coyote Sports Center has proven to be one of the toughest facilities in the Summit League for visiting teams. The Coyotes hold a 60-14 (81.1%) mark in league games in the SCSC and a 91-20 (82.0%) overall record. 
• Pokharel's career high of 32 digs against Northern Iowa is tied for the 16th most in the NCAA in a five-set match and the Yotes' 97 digs vs UNI is tied for the 26th most digs in a five-set match.
• The Coyote middles, Morgan Bode and Amanda Loschen, have been red-hot during the Coytes seven-match win streak. Bode's put away 66 at 2.44 kills per set with a .329 hitting percentage and 28 blocks. Loschen's tallied 4553 kills at a .333 clip and has 26 blocks.
• There are plenty of familiar faces on the South Dakota squad again this year with zero players leaving through the transfer portal and with zero additions through the portal. The Yotes graduated just one senior (Kamryn Farris) from last year's roster.  
• Leanne Williamson enters her 13th year leading the Coyotes and holds a 265-115 record. Williamson set Summit League records for overall career wins and conference wins in 2025.

Series History vs Omaha & St. Thomas

• South Dakota swept both Omaha and St. Thomas on the road in the first matchups of the season.
• The Coyotes carry a four-match win streak over the Mavericks into Thursday's contest.
• USD hit .275 in the win over the Mavs behind eight kills and a .467 hitting percentage from Morgan Bode and a .368 clip for eight kills from Amanda Loschen. 
• Omaha entered the Oct. 3 match on a three-match win streak against the three other Dakota schools where they hit .200+ in all three matches. 
• The Coyotes held Omaha to 30 kills and a .092 hitting percentage. 
• Bode and Loschen both hit over .300 in the match against St. Thomas and combined for 17 kills.
• Gabi Zachariasen led the way with 14 kills, as Avery Van Hook dished out 36 assists in the three setter.

Spooky Season

• With a pair of wins this week, the Coyotes would finish the month of October with a perfect 9-0 record. 
• The last time the Coyotes went undefeated in October was in 2022 when the Yotes went 8-0.
• Similar to this year, the 2022 season also saw the Yotes drop the last match of September before going undefeated in October which turned into a 13-match win streak. The 2022 squad was the Summit League Regular Season and Tournament Champions.
• Avery Van Hook's guided the Yotes to a .245 hitting percentage this month, averaging 11.22 assists per set.
• Lauren Medeck has led the way on the outside with 110 kills (4.07/set). Gabi Zachariasen is second on the team with 73 kills (3.04/set).
• Morgan Bode and Amanda Loschen are both hitting .300+ and have combined for 4.4 kills/set. 
• USD is averaging 17.96 digs/set paced by Sierra Pokharel's 4.33 average.

Upcoming Career Milestones

• Amanda Loschen sits seven blocks away from 3000 career blocks, while Morgan Bode is eight away from 300 blocks in her Coyote career.
• Avery Van Hook is 90 assists away from becoming the fourth setter in program history with 4,000 career assists joining Brittany Jessen (2014-17), Madison Jurgens (2018-21) and Tori Kroll (2010-13) in the Coyote record book. All four Coyotes also tallied 1,000+ digs in their career.
• Van Hook would also become the ninth player in Summit League history to reach 4,000+ assists and 1,000+ digs in a career. 
• Lauren Meddeck is 79 kills away from becoming the 13th Coyote to reach 1,000 career kills.

Peak Performers of the Week

• Morgan Bode made it three straight weeks with a Coyote being honored with a Summit League Peak Performer of the Week recognition, as she was named the offensive peak performer of the week for the first time in her career last Tuesday. 
• Bode led the Yotes with 28 kills against North Dakota and North Dakota State, boasting a .436 hitting percentage, 13 blocks and two aces. She set new season-highs of 15 kills and nine blocks with a .517 swing rate in the win over UND. 
• South Dakota has been recognized with at least one Summit League Peak Performer of the Week in five of nine weeks.
• South Dakota became the first team in 2026 to sweep the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week honors, as Lauren Medeck (offensive) and Sierra Pokharel (defensive) were honored by the league office on Oct. 13. 
• It was Medeck's first of the season and third of her career, while Pokharel earned her second straight honor and third of the season.
• Medeck ranked No. 9 in the NCAA that week in kills/set at 5.57 to lead the team to a 15.86 kills/set mark which ranked No. 12 in the country. 
• Pokharel headlined a Coyote defense (9/28-10/4) that ranked No. 1 in the NCAA that week with a 22.50 digs/set average.
• Pokharel earned the first Summit League Peak Performer of the Week for the Coyotes on Sept. 8 after helping the Coyotes to a 3-0 record at the South Dakota Classic.
• Pokharel tallied double-digit digs in all three matches, including a career high 32 in a five-set win over Northern Iowa, which was also her first career double-double with 11 assists. Pokharel had 10 digs alone in the fifth set against the Panthers. 
• Ella Rogers, who made her first three career starts, was named the Summit League Offensive Peak Performer of the Week on Sept. 15 following the Coyotes' weekend in Colorado and Wyoming (Sept. 10-Sept. 12)
• Rogers dished out 97 assists, had 10 kills, four blocks and four aces across 10 sets. She put together an all-around performance in the four-set win over Wyoming with 42 assists, 10 digs, four aces, three blocks and six kills on eight swings (no errors). 

Fast Starts

• Under head coach Leanne Williamson, the Coyotes have been extremely successful when getting out to fast starts in matches.
• The Yotes are 203-23 since 2014 when they've won the first set in a match. 
• USD is a perfect 11-0 in 2026 when winning the first set of a match and 7-0 when winning the first two. 
• South Dakota went 12-2 in 2025 when winning the first set of a match.
• When taking the first two sets in a match, USD is 144-4 under Williamson and has won 37 straight.
• The Coyotes were a perfect 8-0 a season ago after winning the first two sets of a match. 
• Winning the second set proved to be a momentum builder for the Yotes in 2025, as they posted a 16-3 record when taking the second set. 

Can You Dig it?

• After ending the 2025 season at No. 18 in the NCAA with a 16.68 digs per set average, the Coyote defense has been one of the bests in the country again this season.
• USD ranks No. 5 in the NCAA in digs per set at 17.10, led by Sierra Pokharel's 3.97 average.
• Sierra Pokharel leads the Yotes with 278 digs and is followed by Lauren Medeck's 233 and Van Hook's 202.
• The Yotes tallied a season-high 97 digs in the win over UNI and had a single-set high of 26 in set two. 
• USD had 21 digs in the fifth set alone against the Panthers, led by Pokharel's 10 as she set a career high of 32 digs vs UNI.
•  The Coyotes set a single-set season high of 35 digs in the third set against Kansas City.
• The week of the South Dakota Classic (Aug. 31 to Sept. 6), the Coyotes ranked No. 5 in the NCAA in digs/set (18.50) and No. 11 in total digs (222).