VERMILLION, S.D. (USD) – South Dakota (11-8, 5-3 Summit) reverse swept in-state rival South Dakota State on Tuesday night inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in front of its fourth-largest crowd of 2,399 fans. Game scores went 19-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-14, 15-10.

With the win, the Coyotes earned one point in the Interstate Series sponsored by First Interstate Bank and are now tied 1-1 with South Dakota State.

Who Stood Out
Sophomore libero Kamryn Farris had another career night for the Coyotes, racking up a career-high 30 digs while adding three service aces and four assists. South Dakota saw three hitters reach double-digit kills in the five-set battle, including 16 kills a piece from Madison Harms and Kylen Sealock. Harms also added eight blocks and hit .379 on the night. Sealock added two service aces and 12 digs to tally her eighth double-double of the year.

South Dakota State (4-16, 2-6 Summit) received a dominating performance from outside hitter Sylvie Zgonc, who totaled a match-high 26 kills, with 12 of those kills coming just in set two. The freshman added 11 digs, three blocks, one service ace, and a .286 hitting clip. Outside hitter Katie Van Egdom added 12 kills and four digs while libero Stella Winterfeld put up a team-high 15 digs.

Turning Point
South Dakota State came out strong to start the match, taking the first two sets and getting off to a 4-1 lead to start set three. The Coyotes were not to be dismissed however and fought back to tie the set at 8-8 off a kill from freshman Samantha Laird. A back-and-forth battle ensued that ultimately saw USD come out on top to extend the match to extra sets. Set four saw the Coyotes take back the momentum as they hit .367 as a team while holding SDSU to a .138 hitting clip. The Yotes also outblocked the Jacks 4-1. The deciding set saw the Coyotes take complete control of the game, holding the lead the entire 15 points with just one tie score. Farris served five-straight points to give USD a 5-0 edge to start the set. The Jacks would fight back with a 6-0 run to tie the set at 8-8, but a SDSU service error and a kill from Amanda Loschen gave the Coyotes a two-point cushion that they capitalized on. It was all Yotes from there as they went on a 5-2 run to take the deciding set and secure the reverse sweep.

Notable

  • With the win, South Dakota has defeated South Dakota State 17 straight times.
  • This five-set match is just the fifth time USD and SDSU have gone to five sets in the Division I era.
  • Senior setter Brooklyn Schram started for the Yotes and put up 47 assists and 16 digs for her first double-double of the year.
  • Laird added 12 kills for the Yotes, just one shy of her career high.
  • Loschen tallied a career-high seven blocks and added eight kills on a .350 hitting clip.

Quotable
“What an incredible atmosphere, just about 2,400 people here that were wearing red and being loud,” said head coach Leanne Williamson. “We love playing in this match, we love the rivalry aspect, but it did take us awhile to settle in. Our team is resilient though, we stuck with it and made adjustments that gave us openings. Once we got that third-set win, we just kept getting better as the match went on.”

Up Next
South Dakota hosts Omaha on Thursday at 6 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The match will be followed by “Trick or Treat with the Yotes” on the concourse.