SIOUX FALLS - Taking a six-match winning streak into the start of conference play, University of Sioux Falls Volleyball begins their 20-match Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule with two top-25 ranked opponents this week. The Cougars (6-2, 0-0 NSIC) welcome No. 2 Wayne State (8-0, 0-0) on Thursday, Sept. 15 for a 7 p.m. match. USF closes the week with a trip across town to face No. 20 Augustana (7-1, 0-0 NSIC) on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Elmen Center with first serve set for 5:30 p.m.
How to follow this weekend's matches
- Live Stats for all home volleyball matches, including Thursday night against Wayne State, are available HERE
- Live Stats for all away matches are available on the Volleyball schedule page and Saturday's match's live stats will be shown 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
- The Cougars hit the road to continue NSIC play, facing three conference opponents on the road
- USF first travels to 2014 national runner-up and current No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State on Tuesday, Sept. 20 for a 7 p.m. match
- Over the weekend, the Cougars head to North Dakota for matches against University of Mary and Minot State on Friday, Sept. 23 and Saturday, Sept. 24, respectively.
Series Histories
- Sioux Falls looks to snap a four-match losing skid against Wayne State, dating back to when the Cougars joined the NSIC in 2012
- After dropping the first three matches in 3-0 fashion to the perennial powerhouse Wayne State, USF won the first set in last season's matchup before succumbing to WSC in four sets
- Makenna Rockeman and Bria Barfnecht combined for 27 kills, but USF was limited to a .173 attack percentage in the four-set loss
- Some of the most exciting victories in USF's Division II tenure have come over Augustana with whom the Cougars have a 2-2 record
- USF dropped the first D2 meeting in 2012 in three sets, but bounced back with five-set victories in 2013 and 2014, coming from behind in each win
- Last season, Augustana handed the Cougars a 3-0 loss in which Rockeman connected on 13 error-free kills to lead the Cougars
Scouting the competition: No. 2 Wayne State
- A 2015 national semi-finalist, Wayne State has shaken off any idea of lowered expectations after graduating four starters from last year's Central Region champion team
- Wayne State enters their NSIC opener on Thursday with an 8-0 record
- The Wildcats rank seventh in the NSIC in hitting percentage at .252 while sitting third allowing a stingy .096 hitting percentage by their opponents
- Just behind the Cougars, Wayne State is second in the league with 2.27 blocks per set
- Middle Blocker Alyssa Frauendorfer ranks ninth in the NSIC with a .394 attack percentage while fellow middle Alex Opperman is second in the NSIC at 1.23 blocks per set
- Head coach Scott Kneifl is in his 12th season at WSC and owns a 287-95 record
Scouting the competition: No. 20 Augustana
- Augustana entered the season receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll and quickly vaulted into the top 25 with a win over then-No. 3 and reigning national runner-up Palm Beach Atlantic in their opening weekend
- The Vikings are 7-1 and open NSIC play at No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State on Thursday, Sept. 17
- Augustana hits at a .227 rate and allows opponents to swing at .190, ranking 11th and 12th, respectively, through eight matches
- The Vikings are fourth in the league with a 14.39 kills and 13.26 assists per set
- Paced by NSIC digs leader Tahlyr Banks, who picks up an average of 5.65 digs per set, Augustana is second in the league with 19.74 digs per set.
- Dan Meske is in his second season as head coach of the Vikings and owns a 25-12 record
Rockeman and Barfnecht lead Cougars to 4-0 record at Country Inn & Suites Invite
- Behind stellar offensive play from sophomores Makenna Rockeman and Bria Barfnecht, the Cougars earned the unofficial Country Inn & Suites Invitational title
- Barnfecht earned tournament MVP honors while Rockeman and middle blocker Jordan Calef earned all-tournament honors
- Among all players in the tournament, Barfnecht was third in hitting percentage (.370) and blocks per set (1.23) while posting the fourth-most kills with 39 (3.00 per set)
- Rockeman was a workhorse for the Cougars, drilling a tournament-high 64 kills at a 4.92 kills per set clip, 1.32 kills per set more than any other player
Calef's big weekend has USF and herself on top of NSIC blocks leaderboard
- A year after finishing third in the NSIC in blocks per set, senior middle blocker Jordan Calef had an impressive weekend as a defensive force, earning all-tournament honors
- In 13 sets of action, Calef turned away 22 total attacks, finishing with two solo blocks and 20 block assists
- Calef's average of 1.69 blocks per set led the tournament and moved her season average to 1.41
- Leading the NSIC in both categories, Calef owns 41 total blocks this season, an average of 1.41 per set
- Calef's total blocks and average per set has her ranked 10th in NCAA Division II this season
- With Bria Barfnecht ranking fifth and Lexi Scott 13th individually, USF has the top team mark in the NSIC with 2.45 blocks per set and the No. 12 number in NCAA Division II
Cougar offense ranks in top half of NSIC through two weeks
- After eight matches for a majority of the 16 NSIC teams, USF has one of the top offenses in the NSIC
- The Cougars' team hitting percentage of .271 is third in the league and ranks ninth nationally
- USF's kills per set average of 13.34 is seventh in the league and their 1.83 aces per set mark is fourth in the league
- Sophomore outside hitter Makenna Rockeman leads the Cougars with 119 total kills and a 4.10 per set average, both ranking fourth in the NSIC and in the top 40 nationally
- Sophomore middle blocker Lexi Scott's .407 attack percentage is sixth in the NSIC and 21st nationally
- Directing the offense for the majority of the season, junior setter Sydney Schaap is just outside the top 10 in assists per set with a 9.48 mark
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 84-87 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 431-245 record
