SIOUX FALLS – In their final road weekend of the regular season, University of Sioux Falls Volleyball looks to keep their four-match winning streak alive. The Cougars (16-8, 10-6 NSIC) travel to MSU Moorhead (9-15, 4-12 NSIC) for a7 p.m. match on Friday, Nov. 4. To close their trip, USF takes on their ninth ranked opponent of the season in No. 14 Northern State (16-8, 9-7 NSIC) on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m.
How to follow this Tuesday's match
- Live stats for Friday's match at MSU Moorhead are available HERE
- Live stats for Saturday's match at Northern State 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
Second set
- Sioux Falls wraps up the regular season at home, hosting a pair of NSIC opponents for the parents and senior appreciation weekend
- The Cougars welcome Minot State on Friday, Nov. 11 and close the season with University of Mary on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 3 p.m.
Cougars can clinch spot in NSIC tournament with one win
- At 10-6 in the NSIC this season, the Cougars are not only guaranteed a .500 record or better in conference play, USF is one win away from clinching a bid to the NSIC Tournament
- USF holds a three-match lead over current ninth-seeded Minnesota State
- The Cougars would be guaranteed a tie with MSU by winning one of their four remaining matches and USF holds the tiebreaker against MSU with the victory over the Mavericks this season
- A spot in the NSIC Tournament would be the third time in the last four seasons that they have finished in the top eight of the league to earn a bid to the tournament
- In their two previous trips to the NSIC Tournament, the Cougars were the No. 8 seed and lost in the first round, but the Cougars can reach as high as the No. 4 seed with four matches remaining
Cougars top No. 1 Minnesota Duluth for signature win
- In nearly five years of being members of the Division II volleyball powerhouse NSIC, the Cougars had faced a No. 1 team four times and with a 3-2 victory at Minnesota Duluth last Friday, USF defeated the top-ranked team in the poll
- It was the second time this season that USF has defeated a ranked opponent as they dropped then-No. 11 Northern State on Oct. 1.
- The win over No. 1 UMD was also the first time USF had beaten a top-five ranked team
- In all, it was USF's fifth win over a top-25 ranked opponent at the NCAA Division II level
- The Cougars had previously beaten No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State in 2013 and also picked off in-state foes No. 24 Northern State and No. 21 Augustana in 2014
Series History
- Sioux Falls looks to continue their winning ways against MSU Moorhead when the two teams meet for the second time this season
- The Cougars swept MSUM to move their series record against the Dragons to 4-2
- USF has won the last four meetings after falling in the first two all six matchups in the series have been NSIC regular season matches
- Against Northern State, the Wolves hold a 4-2 edge over USF in the intra-state series
- The Cougars knocked off then-No. 11 Northern State on Oct. 1 for their second series win
- Sioux Falls has won two of the last three matches, including a victory at NSU in 2014
- With that road victory, the Cougars are 1-2 in Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D. and 2-4 against NSU in NSIC regular season matches
Scouting the competition: MSU Moorhead
- MSU Moorhead enters the weekend on a three-match losing streak with their last two losses on the road
- The Dragons are hitting .174 as a team and allowing opponents to swing at a .221 clip, ranking 13th and 12th in the NSIC, respectively
- MSUM does have one of the best back row defenses with the third-most digs per set in the league, an average 16.99 per set
- Leading that top-ranked back-row defense is Monica Vega, who leads the league with an average of 5.21 digs per set
- Carly Maslowski leads the Dragons with an average of 3.19 kills per set while Taylor Liesemeyer leads MSUM with a .247 attack percentage
Scouting the competition: No. 14 Northern State
- Northern State enters the weekend with a 16-8 record and a 9-7 record in the NSIC
- The Wolves have dropped three of their last four matches, including two straight in five sets
- NSU is sixth in the league with a .248 attack percentage, but rank 11th with an opponent attack percentage mark of .221
- The Wolves rank in the top half of the league in assists, kills, aces and digs
- Tori Biach is seventh in the league with a .379 attack mark and Ashley Rozell is fourth in service aces at 0.45 per set and fifth in assists with 11.85 per set
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 94-93 as the Cougars' head coach with a 43-55 mark in NSIC competition
- Overall, this is McCartney's 20th season as a collegiate head coach and he owns a 441-259 record
