USD volleyball breaks school record with victories in SCSC, Pentagon

USD (19-1) extended their winning streak to a school-record 16 games over the weekend as they defeated Western Illinois and Purdue Fort Wayne.

USD vs Western Illinois

The Coyotes swept Western Illinois (5-16) in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Friday night 25-17, 25-17, 25-18 in the team’s pink game. The match win broke the old school record of 14 wins in a row, set by the 2007 squad.

“We have really bought in to taking it one game at a time and going 1-0 on every single night,” head coach Leanne Williamson said after the match. “We haven’t looked ahead, we try not to look back, we’ve learned from mistakes and gotten better.”

Junior outside hitter Sami Slaughter led the way offensively posting a .875 hitting percentage individually as the team collectively had a .378 hitting percentage on the night. She contributed 14 kills and three blocks.

Williamson said she was impressed by Slaughter’s confidence during the match.

“[Slaughter] just played at such a confident level,” Williamson said. “She approached the ball like she was going to score every single time. I think she took big swings in big moments and she didn’t hesitate.”

Sophomore setter Madison Jurgens dished out 34 assists while also contributing an ace.

“Offensively, I think we were able to score the ball at a pretty high rate as a team,” Williamson said. “I think Madison Jurgens moved the ball around pretty well and got some people involved in good situations, and that’s something I think she’s been working towards.”

Senior defensive specialist Anne Rasmussen totaled 13 digs on the night, while freshman middle blocker Madison Harms led the team with six blocks.

“I really liked the way we fixed our blocking,” Williamson said. “In the first set I thought we were going through the motions a little bit and they were able to catch us on our block a little more than I would of liked. But I think as the match went on we got cleaner in that category. I really like how we were able to make that change in the middle of the match.”

USD vs Purdue Fort Wayne

USD extended their record win streak to 16, defeating Purdue Fort Wayne (12-10) inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on Sunday 25-22, 25-11, 26-24.

In front of a crowd of 1,085 people, USD outscored the Mastodons in kills (45-31), aces (6-2), blocks (10-7) and assists (43-30). The Coyotes also produced a .236 hitting percentage for the match compared to Purdue Fort Wayne’s .094.

Jurgens bested her mark from the previous match, dishing out 38 assists to complement her 13 digs. Freshman outside hitter Elizabeth Juhnke led the team with 11 kills while also contributing 13 digs.

Rasmussen led the defensive charge once again, tallying 19 digs to complement her four assists and ace. Harms totaled seven blocks on the night as well.

The Coyotes look to continue their winning ways as they travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma to battle Oral Roberts on Friday, Oct. 25.