SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team, which will be led by five returning seniors, has been picked to finish ninth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, according to an NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll released today by the league office.

USF, which is directed by eighth-year head coach Joel McCartney, returns a solid core of veterans as they look to improve on their 15 wins and 10 league victories in one of the nation's top DII leagues. USF, led by NSIC Player to Watch Makenna Rockeman, totaled 123 points in the league balloting.

Concordia St. Paul, the defending NCAA DII champion and NSIC regular season titlist, is the league favorite with 15-of-16 first place votes and 225 ballot points. Southwest Minnesota State, which won the NSIC Postseason Tourney in 2017, was second with the other first-place vote and 210 points.  The rest of the balloting included Minnesota Duluth, third, 194; Northern State, fourth, 176;  Wayne State, fifth, 164; Augustana, sixth, 145; Winona State, seventh, 138; Upper Iowa, eighth, 130; Sioux Falls, ninth, 123; Minnesota State, 10^th, 102; St. Cloud State, 11^th; MSU Moorhead, 12^th, 75; Minnesota Crookston, 13^th, 50; U-Mary, 14^th, 40; Bemidji State, 15^th, 31; and Minot State, 16^th, 28.

The Cougars, which has evolved into a top-50 power program since its transition in 2012, received regional recognition and earned votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll seven straight weeks in 2017. With five seniors, plus a host of talented teammates, the Cougars will look to reach the NSIC Tournament for the fourth time in six years. The Cougars earned berths into the NSIC Tournament in 2013, 2014 and 2016.  Under McCartney's leadership in their NCAA Division II tenure, the Cougars have posted a 97-78 overall record in six years as members of the NSIC.
 

Rockeman, who owns 14 school records and is just the second player in USF's DII history to register over 1,000 kills (1,027), will be among the standouts for USF. A two-time All-NSIC selection, Rockeman also ranked ninth in the league of 3.31 kills per set. She is joined by two-time All-NSIC Lexi Scott, who hit a team-high .303 and ranked eighth in the NSIC with 0.99 blocks per set. Junior Abby Feyereisen also returns after being sixth in the NSIC in blocks. Bria Bartnecht is back after hitting hit .299 (2.67 k/set). Both of USF's top setters, senior Megan Hamstad (656 assists) and junior Krista Goerger (365 assists) return to a team that was eighth in the NSIC in hitting at .218, fifth in blocks per game at 2.19 and seventh in aces at 1.41 per set.

In addition to the team's outstanding effort on the floor, they excel in the classroom. Sporting a sterling 3.71 grade point average, USF Volleyball collected their 10th consecutive AVCA Team Academic Award, earning Honor Roll recognition as an NCAA Division II team with one of the top 25 grade point averages across the country. Eight team members were named Academic All-NSIC.

USF will open the season at the Oredigger Classic in Golden, Colo., on August 24-25. The Cougars will start with Palm Beach Atlantic at 5 p.m., and Davenport at 8 p.m., on August 24. USF will play four games in that opening tournament. They will open the NSIC season with a home matchup against Wayne State at 6 p.m., on Sept. 6 at the Stewart Center.

The top eight teams will play in the single elimination NSIC Volleyball Tournament on November 6, 9-10. Quarterfinals will be hosted on campus by the top four seeds while the semifinals and championship will be hosted by the highest remaining seed following the first round of play. NCAA regional play will be November 15-18 while the NCAA Championships will take place at the NCAA Sports Festival on November 29 to December 1 at the A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, Penn.