VERMILLION, S.D.-- South Dakota opened a new facility, the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, and christened the building with a 3-1 win over visiting North Dakota Tuesday evening in non-conference play.
"Tonight, we passed very well, but our hitting errors got us," UND head coach Mark Pryor said. "We did not move the ball around near enough to beat a team that was very motivated.
"Here's what I like, though. We are seeing glimpses of very high-level play. That are starting to become more frequent. Once we are able to maintain that a little more-- and I am confident we will-- we will be ready to roll for Big Sky Conference play."
Junior transfer Tamara Merseli recorded her first double-double in a North Dakota uniform, setting the pace for the Fighting Hawks' offense with 15 kills while adding 13 digs. Redshirt freshman libero Alivia Fraase added 19 digs while sophomore Jordan Vail had seven kills and six total blocks.
The first set was tightly contested with UND getting out to a 15-12 advantage at the midway point. A 7-1 Coyote run gave the home team the lead, but UND raced off three straight points trailing by three at 23-20 to knot the score. USD was able to grab the next to points to steal the first frame and got out ot an 8-3 advantage in the second set and never looked back to take a two-sets-to-none lead into the intermission.
UND responded in the third, winning 25-23. It was back-to-back service aces from junior Chai Pappa that sparked a 6-0 run as UND seized control at 20-17. The Coyotes came back to tie it on three more occasions, but a USD attack error and a Jordan Vail kill tidied up the set for the visitors.
South Dakota scored the first seven points of the fourth set to regain control of the match, eventually taking a 25-14 score for the win.
UND will head back home to face a pair of schools from the Lone Star state. The Betty Engelstad Sioux Center will play host to UTEP on Friday evening while Texas Tech will be the opponent on Satuday evening. Both matches are slated for 7:00 p.m. starts.
