VERMILLION, S.D. (USD) – South Dakota (12-8, 6-3 Summit) reverse swept Omaha to snap the Mavericks’ eight-game win streak inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Thursday night. Game scores went 16-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-17, 15-11.

Who Stood Out
South Dakota put together a well-rounded attack against the Mavericks, led by freshman Samantha Laird’s 13 kills, a total that ties her career-high. Outside hitter Kylen Sealock followed with 11 kills and Madison Harms added nine kills and six blocks. Sealock recorded a career-high five service aces which ties for 11th in USD history in a single game. Senior Brooklyn Schram subbed in midway through the match to take over at setter and tallied 18 assists, a career-high four service aces, six digs, and two kills.

Omaha (9-11, 8-2 Summit) saw three hitters notch double-digit kills and three players tally double-digit digs, including a match-high 17 kills from outside hitter Amanda Hardt. Outside hitter Shayla McCormick followed with 12 kills and 10 digs while Rachel Fairbanks tallied 11 kills and 15 digs.

Turning Point
Omaha came out strong to start the match, taking the first two sets before South Dakota started to find its groove. After the Yotes extended the match to extra sets by winning set three, they came alive in set four and took control of the match. Omaha took a 14-9 lead to force a USD timeout. A kill from Brynn Paumen out of the timeout spurred a 6-1 run for South Dakota and the Yotes tied the set at 15-15 to force an Omaha timeout. Harms and Sealock put up a solid block to tie the set at 17-17 and send Schram back to the service line. Schram served eight-straight points, including three-straight service aces, to take set four and send the match into the deciding set. The Coyotes took advantage of the momentum gained in set four and handily took the final set to hand Omaha its second loss of league play.

Notable

  • South Dakota’s 15 service aces as a team in the most in a game since 2012. The Yotes had 19 service aces against Arkansas Pine Bluff in 2012.
  • Sophomore libero Kamryn Farris put up 19 digs, six assists, and one service ace.
  • Paumen tallied eight kills on 18 attempts with just one error to hit .389 on the night.
  • The Yotes outblocked the Mavericks 11-7.
  • South Dakota took the lead in set five and held it the entire set in a match that saw 26 tie scores and 12 lead changes overall.

Quotable
“What an incredible match,” said head coach Leanne Williamson. “It took us a little bit to get in a rhythm, but we got better as the match went on. Serving was huge part of the win, five service aces in the first set and six in the second, but even when we weren’t necessarily getting aces, we were getting them out of system which allowed us to play better defense. This has been a tough stretch but I’m really proud of us for being able to pull out the five-set win.”

Up Next
South Dakota heads back out on the road to take on Oral Roberts Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. and Denver Oct. 28 at 2 p.m.