Coyotes rally past St. Thomas in Summit League volleyball

ST. PAUL, MN (Dakota News Now) -South Dakota (15-2, 4-1 Summit) received a match-high 19 kills from Madison Harms and a match-high 29 digs from Lolo Weideman in a four-set victory over St. Thomas. Game scores went 26-28, 25-18, 25-13, 25-19.

Who Stood Out

South Dakota had a healthy offensive effort tonight with three hitters in double digits, including both middle blockers. But it was Harms’ 19 kills and .323 hitting clip that led the Coyotes to the four-set victory. Harms also added a match-high six blocks, including three solo blocks.

For St. Thomas (2-16, 0-6 Summit) it was outside hitter Lauren Galvin, who tallied 18 kills and nine digs while hitting .224.

Turning Point

The Tommies came out strong to start set one, holding the lead until a kill from Elizabeth Juhnke gave the Coyotes their first lead of the set at 13-12. It was all tied up at 23-23 with the two sides trading set points until a kill from Galvin and an attack error from USD gave St. Thomas the first set win. The Coyotes took an early 7-2 lead in set two to set the tone for the rest of the match, hitting .441 and .452 in sets three and four, respectively, to finish the match.

Notable

Evelyn Diederich recorded a career-high 14 kills and totaled a match-high 21 points for the Coyotes.
Brynn Paumen added a career-high 15 kills while hitting .667 percent.
Brooklyn Schram finished with 35 assists and freshman Madi Woodin recorded a career-high 18 assists.
Juhnke added 15 digs in addition to her nine kills and three blocks.

Quotable

“Tonight was absolutely a team win,” said head coach Leanne Williamson. “We got better as a team as the match progressed and that is something that we have been talking a lot about as a group. Brynn was outstanding tonight! She scored the ball at a high rate on the offensive end, and disrupted their offense with her block. Lolo also had a great match on the defensive end as she continues to anchor our defense. When we were faced with adversity today, we responded in a positive way which helped us earn that win.”

Up Next

The Coyotes head to Western Illinois for a noon matchup on Saturday.

Recap courtesy USD Athletics

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