University of South Dakota Athletics

VERMILLION, S.D. – In a thrilling five-set battle in the final match of the South Dakota Classic, South Dakota volleyball earned a 3-2 victory over Northern Iowa in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. 

Sierra Pokharel set new career highs on the night with 32 digs and 11 assists and notched the first double-double of her career.

With their backs against the wall, down 2-1 in the match, South Dakota sent the match to a fifth set behind three Coyotes with four kills in the fourth. Lauren Medeck, Gabi Zachariasen and Morgan Bode had four kills. The momentum swung from side to side throughout the set with six lead changes and the score tying 11 times. 

The lead switched hands for the final time on a 4-0 Coyote run featuring two kills from Medeck, a Bode kill and a UNI error. Medeck again started a run for the Yotes with a kill, followed by back-to-back kills from Van Hook, and USD would score nine of the final 13 points to extend the match to a fifth set. 

Northern Iowa was in control of the fifth set from the start, but USD stayed within striking range, and with the Panthers reaching match point (14-12), the Coyotes found new life following a pair of UNI errors. UNI reached match point for a second time with a kill from Lily Dykstra, but the score would tie back up on a UNI service error. Zachariasen's 16^th kill of the night flipped the script and moved the Coyotes to match point, and Van Hook closed it out with a setter dump to win the set 17-15 and the match 3-2. 

The trio of Medeck, Zachariasen and Pokharel were clutch for the Yotes in the final set. Medeck and Zachariasen combined for nine kills, with no errors, while Pokharel tallied 10 digs. 

Medeck, Bode and Zachariasen combined for 13 of USD's 15 kills in the opening set, as the Coyotes grabbed the early 1-0 lead in the match. UNI briefly took the lead late, 19-18, but four straight points put the Yotes back ahead by five. After the Panthers rattled off four straight points, the Coyotes reached set point (24-22) off a UNI error, and a big block from Amanda Loschen and Zachariasen closed out the opening set. 

The Panthers responded in the second and third sets with 25-21 and 25-19 wins, respectively, behind the play of Cassidy Hartman who had 15 kills and Dykstra's 10 kills in those two sets alone. The Panthers tallied 29 digs in set two, the most by either team in a set, and would hit .317 in the third.

South Dakota's win over Northern Iowa was the first win over the Panthers in program history and snapped a 10-game skid to UNI. 

The Coyotes improve to 22-2 all-time at the South Dakota Classic and went 3-0 for the sixth time at their home tournament. 

Up next for the Coyotes is UniWyo Invite hosted by Colorado State and Wyoming beginning on Thursday against Colorado State at 8 p.m. CT. 
 

---