KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the fifth time in seven years, the South Dakota volleyball team has advanced to the Summit League Tournament Championship match after sweeping Omaha in the semifinal round Monday night.
Kylen Sealock and Morgan Bode paced a Coyote attack that hit .284 for the match. Sealock put away 11 kills, her 14th straight match with 10 or more, and swung at a .409 clip with a pair of blocks. Bode put down eight kills on 11 swings for a .636 rate, had one ace and four blocks (one solo).
Amanda Loschen matched Bode’s blocking at the net with four of her own (one solo) and terminated five kills at a .400 clip. Avery Van Hook handed out 25 assists, had five digs and three blocks (one solo). Lauren Medeck added five kills and a match-high 12 digs.
The Mavericks took an early 6-4 lead in the first set, before a Loschen and Van Hook block started a 6-1 Coyote run that put the Yotes up 10-7. The score would tie briefly at 12, but two straight USD points courtesy of Bode, a solo block and kill, began a 7-2 run and the Yotes led the rest of the first frame. Medeck led USD with three kills on five swings with no errors, while Sealock and Bode each had a pair of terminations on three swings in the first.
Sealock got the Yotes started in the second set and was followed by two straight aces from Farris, as the Yotes raced out to a 7-1 lead and forced a Mavericks timeout. Coming out of the brief break in the action, Cora Hokenstad put the Yotes up seven her first of two aces. The Coyotes led through and through in the second frame, but the Mavs made things interesting late after the Yotes reached set point following a Van Hook dump. Omaha scored three straight to pull the set score to 24-23, but an error by the Mavs would send the match to the third with the Yotes leading 2-0.
Sealock had a team-high five kills in the second set, while Bode was a perfect 3-for-3. The duo of Sealock and Bode also teamed up for one block in the set.
The Mavericks scored the first three points to start the third frame, but the Yotes took control soon after with an 9-2 run that ended with a block from Bode and Medeck and a kill from Bode. Sealock was involved in three of four USD points in the middle of the set, as she put away two straight kills and teamed up with Bode for a block. Loschen moved the Yotes to match point, 24-19, and after a pair of points from the Mavericks, Loschen closed the door on USD’s 3-0 sweep with her fifth kill.
The Coyotes tallied five blocks in the third set, their most of any set on the night. Van Hook, Bode and Loschen all took part in multiples blocks in the third.
South Dakota advances to the Summit League Tournament Championship and will face in-state rival South Dakota State tomorrow night at 7:00 in the Swinney Center.
Notes
- South Dakota moves to 20-9 on the season and advances to the Summit League Tournament Championship match
- The Coyotes will play for the championship title for the fifth time in the last seven years
- USD was crowned the conference tournament’s champion in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022
- Kylen Sealock has now reached double-digits kills in 14 straight matches
- The Yotes hit .284 on the night while holding Omaha to a .173 swing rate
- Kylen Sealock hit .409 on the night and was followed by Morgan Bode’s eight kills and .636 hitting percentage
- Lauren Medeck had a match-high 12 digs
- The Yotes hit .353 and .343 in the first and second sets, respectively, and was the fourth and fifth straight sets where they hit over .300 dating back to last night’s quarterfinals match
- The Yotes held the edge in kills (45-32), aces (4-2), blocks (7-2) and digs (57-39)
- South Dakota and South Dakota State have met only once before in the Summit League Volleyball Championship with the second-seeded Coyotes beating the sixth-seeded Jackrabbits 3-2 in the 2021 semifinals