In last year’s NCAA Tournament, Kirsten Bernthal Booth’s volleyball team looked to be playing with a lot of nervous energy after earning the program’s first opportunity to host postseason matches. On Friday night at D.J. Sokol Arena, in front of 2,552 fans, they turned that energy into swagger on the court and blew through South Dakota in three sets to advance to the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
The Bluejays, seeded ninth overall for the second year in a row, dominated the Coyotes in the first two sets, winning both by identical scores of 25-14 to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room, then grinded out a 25-22 win in set three to clinch it and move on to face 22nd-ranked Washington, who fought off a feisty Saint Mary’s club in four sets earlier in the evening.