University of South Dakota Athletics

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – South Dakota volleyball fell in straight sets to Washington Saturday afternoon to close out the South Dakota Lottery College Volleyball Classic at the Sanford Pentagon. 

The Coyotes were led by Lauren Medeck's 11-kill, 10-dig double-double. Avery Van hook had a team high 15 digs and tallied 24 assists, while Sierra Pokharel had nine digs and three aces. 

Washington was led by Kylie Kleckner, who had 14 kills, and Simona Mateska's 12 kills. The Huskies hit .264 as a team.

The Huskies took an early, but the Yotes kept it close and would tie the score on four occasions before grabbing their first lead of the night ,11-10. Washington answered with three straight and would hold the lead the rest of the first set. USD pulled within two late, 20-18, but the Huskies would put the finishing touches on set one with four straight points. 

A back-and-forth battle ensued in set two with seven lead changes and 13 times the score was tied. Despite Washington holding a 20-8 advantage in kills, the Coyotes were the first to reach set point, 24-22, behind four blocks, two aces and eight Huskie attack errors. A Huskies kill following a UW timeout once USD reached set point cut the Yotes lead to one, and the Huskies would turn to Kylie Kleckner to close out the set with three straight kills. 

Washington looked to run away with the third set, building an 8-1 lead out of the gates. Pokharel brought the Yotes back into it with three straight aces to cut the lead to 8-5. Washington responded with a 6-1 run to regain a sizeable lead and wouldn't look back for a 25-17 set win and 3-0 match win.

The Coyotes had the edge in aces (5-4), but the Huskies had more blocks (8-5), digs (60-54) and kills (46-31). 

South Dakota closes out the nonconference schedule with a 7-4 record. 

The Coyotes return to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Friday night at 7 p.m. to kick off Summit League action against South Dakota State. 
 

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