STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The No. 2 Coyotes made their first statement win of 2019 on Friday afternoon, with a 3-1 win over No. 6 Minnesota Duluth in the Texan Invitational at Tarleton State.

The Yotes fought back in set one, and took it 25-23, won set two, 25-22 after briefly losing the lead late, and then ramped it up to take set four 25-18 in a set they never trailed in.  Alexis Cardoza was outstanding again leading in kills and digs with 15 and 14, respectively, while hitting .300.  Sascha Dominique added 13 kills and Stephanie Doak had 13 as well in her second match with the Coyotes.

Cardoza also added five blocks, just behind Lydia Morohunfola who had six, in a category they led 22-11.  The Yotes hit .319, held Minnesota Duluth to .257, and served nine aces.

"This is a really a great win for our program," head coach Kim Cherniss said.  "UMD is a storied program and a perennial top-10 team, and represents some of the best play in the NSIC.  Alexis Cardoza again came through with a complete match in every aspect of the game.  Stephanie Doak also came through with some big kills in clutch situations.  In addition, our team did a very good job from the service line which helped put us in a position to be able to win the match."

Tomorrow the Yotes face the host, No. 10 Tarleton State, at 2:30 pm.  Live links are on CSUSBathletics.com.