GRAND FORKS, N.D. – South Dakota volleyball extended its win streak to five matches Thursday night with a 3-1 win over North Dakota at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
Avery Van Hook guided the Yotes to a .303 team hitting percentage, the second time in the last three matches they have hit above .300. Four Yotes tallied double-digit kills led by Morgan Bode’s error-free night of 14 kills on 28 swings. Bode fell one block short of a double-double with nine blocks.
Gabi Zachariasen added 13 kills, while Audrey Nelson had 11 on a .409 hitting percentage and Lauren Medeck notched her second straight double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs. Sierra Pokharel had a match-high 19 digs and extended her double-digit dig streak to six. Samantha Untiedt tallied 12 digs for the second straight match and had two aces.
South Dakota’s 12 blocks and 11 aces on the night were both season highs. It was the third match of the year with 10 or more blocks. Van Hook and Medeck paced the Yotes with four and three aces, respectively.
The Coyote attack was error-free in the first set and put away 15 kills at a .385 clip, while holding UND to a .119 hitting percentage. South Dakota held the lead throughout the first set, with the score tying only once more at 9-9. The Coyotes closed out the first set on a 7-0 run, with Bode having a hand in four of those points with three kills and a block alongside Van Hook. Bode tallied four kills and three blocks in the opener, while Zachariasen had a team-high five kills.
The Coyotes carried the momentum into set two to grab a 10-5 lead, but the Fighting Hawks flipped the script with a 9-1 run to go ahead 14-11. The Coyotes battled back to tie the score at 19-19 and 22-22, but UND scored on three of the final four rallies to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 set win. The South Dakota efficiency dipped a touch in the second but Bode continued her steady play to start with five more kills on eight swings and a block.
South Dakota stormed out to a 9-2 lead in set three and kept its foot on the gas to take a commanding 18-5 advantage. While the Yotes hit .195 in the set, their lowest of the match, USD tallied six blocks and four aces. Bode added four more blocks to her total, while Medeck had a pair of aces during a 5-0 Coyote run. The Coyotes cruised to a 25-13 set three win.
North Dakota held a narrow lead for the beginning portion of the fourth set, until an 8-1 run moved the Yotes ahead 17-12. In the midst of the run, Bode was in on three straight points with a pair of kills sandwiching a block alongside Medeck. Zachariasen had back-to-back kills as the Yotes were the first to reach 20 leading by five, and three of the Coyote freshman’s four kills in the set came in the final seven points. Nelson and Medeck capped off the night with two straight kills and the Coyotes won their fifth straight match with a 3-1 victory over North Dakota.
Van Hook set a season high and matched her career high with four aces and her 47 assists were the most in a four-set match this season. Bode set season highs in both kills (14) and blocks (9).
The Coyotes continue their road trip on Saturday with a clash with the North Dakota State Bison at 11:00 a.m. in Fargo, North Dakota.