COYOTES LOSE IN FOUR GAMES TO No. 4 LOUISVILLE

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — After dropping the first two sets to No. 4 seed Louisville, the South Dakota volleyball team fought back to win the third set 25-23 thanks to a .290 attack percentage. However, the top-ranked Cardinals showed their mettle in the fourth set and took a four-set victory.

Second semester Avery Van Hook surpassed the 1,000 assist mark in his career as a Coyote in the second set, giving 25 assists that day. Kylen Sealock reached the double-digit kill mark for the third time in a row today with 12 at the start of the season.

Louisville posted a .412 hitting percentage in the game and boasted attack rates of .579 and .632 in the first and fourth sets, respectively. 2023 ACC Player of the Year Anna DeBeer and All-ACC First Team member Charitie Luper each had 12 kills for the Cardinals.

In both the first and second sets, the Coyotes found their rhythm shortly after Louisville gained an early advantage. In the first frame, the Coyotes used a 7-2 run to get within two points of the Cardinals (13-11). Sealock scored two kills during the run, while Morgan Bode scored her third ace of the season. But Louisville, which had a batting average of just .579, scored six unanswered points and won the set 25-14.

Bode started the Yotes' 6-2 run midway through the second set with a kill assisted by Van Hook. USD's final spurt brought the score to 13-11 in the Cardinals' favor. Louisville and the Yotes traded points back and forth, but ultimately the Cardinals were able to fend off USD's comeback attempts and win the second set 25-17.

After trailing 0-2, the Coyotes fought back with their best set to take a 25-23 victory in the third frame. The Yotes had their best batting average with a .290 attack rate. The Cardinals held the advantage until a 6-2 run by the Coyotes, capped by a Sealock kill, gave the Yotes an 18-17 lead. The fourth-seeded Cardinals fought back to take a 21-20 lead, but after a Amanda Loschen Kill and a couple of kills from Lauren Medeck the Yotes had a target point. Kamryn Farris closed the round with a serve ace and South Dakota won its first set against Louisville.

The Cardinals took a 7-1 lead in the fourth set and held on until they won in four sets. Louisville finished the game with a brilliant .632 batting average in that set.

South Dakota will face host team Northern Kentucky in the second game of the NKU Invitational tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT.

NOTES

• South Dakota falls to Louisville 0-4 overall.
• The Coyotes' third-set win was the first set USD won against the Cardinals.
• Avery Van Hook reached the 1,000-assist mark in her career with her tenth assist of the game in the second set.
• Kylen Sealock reached their third consecutive game with double-digit kills at the start of the season.
• Louisville hit .412 in the game, while the Yotes hit .087