KANSAS CITY, Mo. (USD) – South Dakota (10-8, 4-3 Summit) fell in five sets to Kansas City inside Swinney Center Saturday afternoon. Game scores went 25-22, 18-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13.

Who Stood Out
Freshman setter Avery Van Hook recorded a career-high 53 assists while adding four kills, 10 digs, and one service ace. Sophomore libero Kamryn Farris tallied a career-high and match-high 26 digs from the back row. The Coyotes saw three hitters reach double-digit kills in the five-set battle, including 19 kills from middle blocker Madison Harms. Harms had just four errors to hit .366 while adding seven blocks on the match. Outside hitter Kylen Sealock followed with 17 kills and 12 digs to record her seventh double-double of the season.

Kansas City (15-4, 6-1 Summit) relied heavily on the outside in their offensive attack, with Odyssey Warren putting up a match-high 21 kills and Kaia Dunford notching 17 kills. Warren added 13 digs to record her fourth double-double of the season. Setter Sydney Henry put up a match-high 55 assists to compliment her 13 digs and six kills. Five Roos tallied double-digit digs on the match.

Turning Point
South Dakota and Kansas City battled back-and-forth through the first four sets before coming to the deciding set. The Yotes took advantage of the momentum gained from winning set four, taking an early lead and riding it to the side switch with an 8-6 advantage over the Roos. Middle blocker Brynn Paumen came out of the break and put down a quick kill to give the Coyotes a three-point advantage midway through the set. Kansas City put down a trio of kills to come within one before a kill from Sealock boosted the Yotes up 11-9 and forced a Kansas City timeout. The Roos came out of the timeout hot and got a kill from Dunford that spurred a 6-2 run to take the deciding set.

Notable

  • Van Hook’s 53 assists and 10 digs combined to record her ninth double-double of the season.
  • Senior Mattie Johnson tallied 12 digs and one service ace for the Yotes.
  • Paumen added 11 kills on 23 attempts with just two errors to hit .391 on the match. The sixth-year was just one kill shy of her season high.

Up Next
South Dakota returns to Vermillion to host in-state rival South Dakota State as a part of the Interstate Series on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. On Oct. 19, the Coyotes host Omaha at 6 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.