SIOUX FALLS - Opening the 2016 season, University of Sioux Falls heads to St. Charles, Mo. this weekend for the Lindenwood Invitational on Sept. 2-3. The Cougars (0-0) will play four nonconference matches against all NCAA Central Region opponents beginning with Northwest Missouri State at 11:30 a.m. and host Lindenwood at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2. USF will close out the invitational on Saturday, Sept. 3 with Missouri-St. Louis at 11:30 a.m. and Maryville (Mo.) at 4:30 p.m.
How to follow this weekend's matches
- All four USF Volleyball matches this weekend will have live stats available HERE
- Friday night's match against Lindenwood University will be available for webcast HERE
Keeping up with the Cougars
Second set
- USF returns home to host the Country Inn & Suites Invitational on Sept. 9-10 at the Stewart Center
- The Cougars will square off with Bemidji State, William Jewell, Minnesota Crookston, and South Dakota School of Mines in four nonconference matches before they begin NSIC competition
Series Histories
- USF will be facing three opponents for the first time in program history since they transitioned to NCAA Division II in 2012
- The Cougars' matches against Lindenwood, Missouri-St. Louis, and Maryville will be first-time meetings between the programs
- USF has squared off with Northwest Missouri State twice, meeting once each in 2013 and 2014 and the Cougars are 2-0 against the Bearcats
- Sioux Falls hosted both matches and took down NWMSU 3-1 in 2013 and 3-0 in 2014
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.
Calef named USF's player to watch in NSIC preseason release
- Senior middle blocker Jordan Calef was named NSIC player to watch for the Cougars
- Calef finished second on USF with 269 kills while leading the team with a .320 attack percentage
- A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Calef led USF with 131 total blocks, including 18 solo stuffs
- Her 1.15 blocks/set average was third in the NSIC and helped USF to a 2.41 blocks/set average as a team, ranking 20th in Division II
- In her career, Calef has 737 kills, which ranks second in USF NCAA Division II history
- She is the USF D2 career leader in total blocks (355), block assists (321) and is second with 34 solo blocks, 25 solo stuffs behind leader Samantha Lovell.
Folk continues growth entering third year as USF's libero
- After grabbing the starting libero job as a sophomore, Abby Folk has played in all but one set as the libero for the Cougars
- A senior from Rogers, Minn., Folk led the team in digs in each of the past two seasons and has 1,068 in her career
- Folk had her best season yet in 2015, posting 467 digs at a 4.10 rate per set, ranking just outside the top 10 in the NSIC
- She has averaged 3.03 digs per set for her career, raising her average every season from 1.50 as a freshman, 3.55 as a sophomore to her 4.10 per set rate last year, the most in a season since USF joined Division II.
- Folk also contributes as an excellent server, recording 27 last season to push her total to 53 for her career
Great wall of Sioux Falls
- Last season, USF posted the third-best blocks per set average in the NSIC and a top-20 mark in Division II
- The Cougars averaged 2.41 blocks per set, ranking behind Concordia-St. Paul and MSU Moorhead in the league by 0.11 per set
- The Cougars totaled 450 total blocks, including 50 solo blocks, in 114 sets
- USF recorded 10-or-more blocks 13 times during the season and went 8-5 in matches with at least 10 blocks
- Middle blocker tandem of Jordan Calef and Lexi Scott both ranked top 10 in the NSIC in blocks per set
- Calef averaged 1.15 per set to rank third and Scott posted 0.99 blocks per set for ninth
McCartney enters sixth season at USF
- USF Volleyball head coach Joel McCartney enters his sixth season at USF, beginning his tenure in 2011
- In five seasons, McCartney is 78-85 as the Cougars' head coach with a 31-49 mark in NSIC competition
- Overall, this is McCartney's 20th season as a collegiate head coach and he owns a 425-243 record
