Volleyball Builds Momentum as they Head into Conference Play
The Coyotes were on the road again as they went to the Green Bay Invite in Green Bay, Wisconsin for the last tournament of the season.
For the first match of the invite, the Coyotes faced off against the host team, the Green Bay Phoenix, on Thursday night in a match that went to not only five sets but extras in the fifth set.
The Coyotes took sets one and two with scores of 25-15 and 25-22, respectively.
The Phoenix bounced back in the third and fourth set, taking those sets 25-21 and 25-19.
In the fifth and final set, neither team were able to take the lead by more than three points.
After South Dakota went to set and match point with a lead of 14-12, the Phoenix were able to tie and take the lead late into set five, 17-16. The Coyotes were able to bounce back and tie and take the lead themselves as senior outside hitter Evelyn Diederich put down a kill to make the score 18-17.Graduate middle blocker Brynn Paumen ended the match with a kill for the final score of 19-17.
The Phoenix were led by senior outside hitter Hannah Vanden Berg with a double-double of 21 kills and 15 digs as well as a service ace. Junior outside hitter Cora Behnke also finished with a double-double as she finished with 19 kills and 14 digs also adding two service aces.
The Coyotes were led by junior outside hitter Kylen Sealock with a double-double with 16 kills and 15 digs also adding three blocks. Joining her with another double-double was freshman setter Avery Van Hook as she had a career high 51 assists, three service aces, seven kills, scoring 10.5 points and 15 digs as well.
For the Coyotes second game of the invite, they faced off against the Illinois State Redbirds on Friday afternoon.
This matchup went to four sets with the Coyotes coming out with the victory.
The Coyotes took set one 25-16, but the Redbirds took set two 25-19. The Coyotes then swept the next two sets 25-20 and 25-19 to win the match 3-1.
The Redbirds were led by sophomore outside hitter Aida Shadewald with 18 kills. They were also led by sophomore setter Emily Weber with 36 assists.
The Coyotes were led by Van Hook with 47 assists and Paumen with 12 kills and six blocks.
In the third and final game of the invite, the Coyotes played the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday afternoon.
The Coyotes would win that match in a 3-0 sweep. The Coyotes won the sets 25-14, 25-22 and 25-23.
Leading the Chippewas was sophomore Claire Ammeraal with 22 assists and eight digs. Junior libero Aly Gurtiza also led them with 13 digs and three assists.
Leading the Coyotes was Sealock with 18 kills, tying her career high, and nine digs. Van Hook also led the Coyotes with 37 assists and three blocks.
After three wins from the invite, the Coyotes now have five straight wins after starting 1-5 on the season.
South Dakota will head into conference play as they open the season playing against the Omaha Mavericks on the road Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. This match is a rematch of the 2022 Summit League Championship match where South Dakota won in a 3-0 sweep.
Photo Credit: Sydney Kolln | The Volante
