CORALVILLE, Iowa — After dropping the first two sets to the University of Iowa, the South Dakota volleyball team battled back to force a fifth set but would eventually fall 3-2 to the Hawkeyes.
Avery Van Hook dished out 42 assists, had 12 digs and five kills. Kamryn Farris tallied 20 digs and has led the Coyotes in digs in all nine matches this season. A trio of Coyotes reached double-digit kills in Lauren Medeck (18), Kylen Sealock (15) and Morgan Bode (10), while Amanda Loschen had a season-high nine.
“This is a disappointing loss that we need to learn from,” said head coach Leanne Williamson. “We had a hard time getting into a rhythm and playing our style of volleyball, but that is something that we did really well last week. Each match is an opportunity to learn, and we will certainly do that going into tomorrow.”
It was a near perfect start to the match for the Coyotes as they held an early 6-1 lead. Medeck or Audrey Nelson had a hand in the first six points for USD, with Medeck putting away three kills while Nelson had one kill and two blocks. The duo also teamed up for a block in the opening run. The Hawkeyes used a run of their own to pull back even with the Yotes at 12. The teams traded points throughout the middle of the set and the score was eventually knotted at 20-20 late. The Hawkeyes closed out the set win with a 5-1 run. Sealock tallied an efficient four kills on five swings in the frame.
Except for a brief 2-1 lead for Iowa, it was the Coyotes who would carry the advantage through the midway point of set two. While the Yotes held the lead, the Hawkeyes didn’t allow them to pull away by more than three points. The Hawkeyes found their rhythm late, outscoring USD 14-6 to take the second set by a score of 25-20.
South Dakota gained control in the third set following a 7-1 run and would later hold a 17-10 edge after three straight points. Three Coyotes registered four kills in the set in Loschen, Sealock and Bode. The freshmen Bode and Medeck were responsible for four straight USD points, as they moved to set point, 24-22. It was the senior Sealock who kept the Yotes comeback hopes alive, slamming down a kill for a set three win.
The momentum would carry over to set four, as Bode put away the first point followed by back-to-back Sealock kills. The Yotes, however, would be forced to call a timeout following six straight from the Hawkeyes. The Yotes responded out of the timeout and in another tightly contested set, the scoreboard read 17-17 late. Farris held serve as the Yotes scored five straight, which was capped off by an ace from the Yotes libero. Loschen and Bode tallied consecutive kills to move the Coyotes to set point, and Medeck sent the match to a fifth set with her fifth kill of the frame.
Iowa took the fifth set, 15-7, behind a .286 hitting percentage while holding USD to a -.154 clip.
The Coyotes return to Xtream Arena tomorrow afternoon for a meeting with Drake at 3:00 p.m.
Notes
- Iowa moves to 3-1 all-time against the Coyotes and 2-0 as the home team
- The Coyotes four-game win streak was snapped
- Three Coyotes reached double-digit kill totals in Lauren Medeck (18), Kylen Sealock (15) and Morgan Bode (10)
- Medeck recorded her second straight double-double and third in the last four matches
- South Dakota is now 1-1 in five set matches on the season and 0-3 when falling behind two sets to zero
- It was the first match this season that South Dakota lost when they held the lead in kills
- Kamryn Farris reached 20 digs for the second time this season
- Medeck and Farris each recorded multiple service aces with three and two, respectively
- Audrey Nelson and Bode tallied four blocks each. Nelson had four assisted blocks, while Bode had one solo and three assisted
- Iowa hit at a slightly better clip, .198 to .165, and the Hawkeyes’ Dominique Phills put away 18 kills