SIOUX FALLS - Reaching the halfway point of the conference season, University of Sioux Falls Volleyball heads to the road for two matches this weekend. The Cougars (11-6, 5-4 NSIC) square off with Minnesota State (9-8, 3-6 NSIC) on Friday, Oct. 14 in Mankato, Minn. before traveling to St. Paul, Minn. for a 4 p.m. match at No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul (16-1, 8-1 NSIC) on Saturday, Oct. 15.
 
How to follow this weekend's matches

• Live stats for Friday's match at Minnesota State are available HERE
• Live stats for Saturday's match at Concordia-St. Paul are available HERE
• All NSIC matches are available for live streaming through Stretch Internet and can be seen at USFCougars.com/watch

 
Keeping up with the Cougars

• Follow the USF Volleyball and all of USF Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube with the USF Athletics Social Media Directory.

 
Second set

• Sioux Falls opens a week-long three-match home stand beginning with the return trip from travel partner and current No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the Stewart Center
• Over the weekend, USF hosts Minnesota Crookston on Friday, Oct. 21 and Bemidji State on Saturday, Oct. 22.

 
Series Histories

• Sioux Falls looks to improve on their 2-4 record against Minnesota State when the two programs meet on Friday night for the seventh time since the Cougars joined the NSIC in 2012
• After dropping the first two contests in 2012, the Cougars took the next two matched in five sets
• Of the six meetings between USF and MSU, four have gone to five sets with USF recording both of their wins in five-set fashion
• On the road, USF is 1-2, winning at MSU in 2013, and all six matchups have come in NSIC regular season play
• The Cougars will look to upset perennial top-10 and seven-time national champion Concordia-St. Paul, who holds a 6-0 record over USF since the Cougars joined the NSIC in 2012
• The Cougars have taken a set off CSP three times, falling 3-1 three times
• Last season, the Cougars dropped a 3-0 decision at home before losing 3-1 on the road when Concordia-St. Paul was ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches poll
• USF is 0-3 on the road at CSP and 0-6 in NSIC regular season matches with the Golden Bears

 
Scouting the competition: Minnesota State

• Minnesota State limps into the weekend with three straight losses and a 9-8 record, 3-6 in the NSIC
• Minnesota State ranks ninth in the league with a .208 attack percentage on the season, while allowing opponents to swing at .186, eighth in the NSIC
• Krista Hassing leads the Mavericks with 3.72 kills per set, which ranks sixth in the NSIC, and her 4.44 points per set are fourth
• The Mavericks record an average of 1.90 blocks per set, 10th in the NSIC, and pick up 16.05 digs per set, seventh in the league
• Leading their top-half back row defense is Haley Fogarty, who averages 5.32 digs per set, ranking third in the NSIC
• Lori Rittenhouse-Wollmuth is in her second season as head coach of the MSU Volleyball program and she has a 25-21 career record

 
Scouting the competition: No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul

• After dropping their first match of the season to current No. 1 Minnesota Duluth two weeks ago, Concordia-St. Paul has pushed their 2016 record to 16-1 with an 8-1 NSIC record
• The Golden Bears lead the NSIC, and all of NCAA Division II, with a .326 attack percentage and they hold its opponents to a .132 attack percentage, second in the league
• CSP leads the league and NCAA Division II in kills and assists per set while ranking fifth in the NSIC with 2.13 blocks per set and sixth at 16.26 digs per set
• Three different CSP hitters rank in the top six of the league in hitting percentage, including the top two in Sara Macek and Riley Hanson
• Kasey Williams is second in the NSIC with 12.46 assists per set and reigning national player of the week, Anna Schlaak is seventh in the league with 3.40 kills per set
• Brady Starkey is in his 14th season as the head coach of Concordia-St. Paul and he owns a 446-45 record with 12 NSIC titles and 7 NCAA Division II national championships

 
Barfnecht sets record vs. UIU, has banner weekend from right side

• Sophomore right-side hitter Bria Barfnecht was near flawless in USF's win over Upper Iowa, breaking the USF single match record for hitting percentage
• The Delano, Minn. native connected on 15 kills on 18 attempts without a single error for an .833 attack percentage
• Barnfecht had a strong start to the weekend with a 13-kill and .476 attack percentage in the weekend opener against Winona State
• Over the weekend, Barfnecht posted 28 kills on 39 attempts with just three errors for a .641 attack percentage on the weekend
• For the season, Barfnecht has 145 kills (2.38/set) and is third on the Cougars with a .296 attack percentage

 
Scott on a roll over past three weeks

• Although she has led the Cougars in hitting percentage for most of the season, sophomore middle blocker Lexi Scott has taken it to a new level the past three weeks
• The Prinsburg, Minn. native has connected on 69 kills in six matches (22 sets) for a 3.14 average, up from her 2.44 per set average she had through 11 matches (95 sets)
• In addition to her increase in kills, Scott has upped her attack percentage, hitting .408 over the past six matches from .369 in the first three weeks of the season
• Scott's total hitting percentage for the season of .385 ranks ninth in the NSIC and 18th in NCAA Division II
• Defensively, Scott's recent production has been equally impressive, averaging nearly half a block more per set over the past six matches
• Scott has 29 total blocks, including five solo stuffs, over the past three weeks, an average of 1.32 per set, and she had been averaging 0.87 heading into this stretch
• At 1.03 blocks per set on the season, Scott ranks fifth in the NSIC and in the top 100 of NCAA D2

 
Cougars continue strong front-row defense

• Behind middle blockers Jordan Calef and Lexi Scott, USF has the top blocking defense in the NSIC and one of the toughest to crack in NCAA Division II
• Through six weeks of the season, USF has tallied 151.0 total blocks for an NSIC-leading 2.48 average
• USF's block per set mark also ranks fourth in NCAA Division II and their block total is 18th in D2
• Calef is second in the league with a 1.30 average and she has the most total blocks in the league at 79 stuffs
• Lexi Scott is fifth in the NSIC, averaging an even 1.03 blocks per set
• The Cougars have recorded eight or more blocks in 13 matches this season and have posted double-digit blocks in five matches

 
Cougars picked ninth in NSIC preseason coaches' poll

• Released on Aug. 10, USF was picked ninth in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll
• The Cougars collected 105 points in the poll for their ninth-place billing
• USF finished tied for 12th in the league standings on year ago, posting a 5-15 conference record
• After the graduation of Michelle Ritland, USF returns five starters and libero Abby Folk for the 2016 season
• Seven-time national champion Concordia-St. Paul was tabbed as the favorite while Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State all received first-place votes.

 
McCartney enters sixth season at USF

• USF Volleyball head coach Joel McCartney enters his sixth season at USF after beginning his tenure in 2011
• In five seasons, McCartney is 89-91 as the Cougars' head coach with a 36-53 mark in NSIC competition
• Overall,  this is McCartney's 20th season as a collegiate head coach and he owns a 436-249 record