Vermillion, S.D. – Sweeping South Dakota made a historic moment even sweeter for senior Lindsay Vortherms (Windom, Minn.) as the Fighting Sioux libero set the school record for career digs in a 3-0 victory over the Coyotes at the DakotaDome on Thursday.
Vortherms finished with 20 digs as the Sioux (14-6, 5-1 GW) registered their fifth sweep of the season in league play. She had seven digs in the opening set, six in the second set and capped off the match with seven in the third.
“I can't even put into words what Lindsay means to this team,” UND head coach Ashley Hardee said. “She was phenomenal again tonight and to break this record in a huge win for us makes it even more special.”
Vortherms passed Mindy Sutter (1985-88) for the top spot on the list, who registered 1,594 during her tenure with the Fighting Sioux. Vortherms now has 1,610.
"This has been a goal of mine since my freshman season," Vortherms said. "It feels really good to break the record, but I could not have done it without my teammates. We played really well tonight too and came away with a big win."
The Sioux staged a big rally to take the first set after trailing 24-20 and facing a USD set point on four different occasions. UND came all the way back to post the 29-27 victory on a quick kill by senior Megan Langseth (Alexandria, Minn.).
Langseth had six kills, 34 assists and five digs to once again direct a UND offense that hit .276 for the match. Sophomore Annika Smed (Albert Lea, Minn.) had her fifth double-double of the season with a match-high 13 kills and 11 digs.
After the Coyotes hit .270 in the first set, the UND defense tightened up and held the home team to a -.081 attack percentage in the second set and a .088 effort in set No. 3.
Smed along with classmate Devin Trefz both had four kills in a 25-16 victory in the second set. Smed added five in the third and decisive set that UND won 25-14.
“We were much more aggressive with our serving late in game one and throughout games two and three,” Hardee said. “That enabled our defense to get in better position and our left side did a great job of blocking in games two and three to finish off the match.”
Sophomore Tiara Russell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) gave the Sioux another spark off the bench, hitting .500 with six kills on 10 swings. Junior Erin Joki added seven kills and hit .357 (7k-1e-17a) along with Trefz (12k-2e-28a).
The Sioux will return to action on Friday, Oct. 23, against New Jersey Institute of Technology at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The match will be a 'Dig Pink' sponsored event as both teams will be supporting the cause to find a cure for breast cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.
