SIOUX FALLS - Facing their third ranked opponent in as many matches, University of Sioux Falls Volleyball opens their three-match road trip on Tuesday night before a trip to North Dakota to close the week. The Cougars (6-4, 0-2 NSIC) square off with No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State (7-3, 1-1 NSIC) on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. in Marshall, Minn. To close the week, USF heads to Minot State (5-6, 1-1 NSIC) on Friday, Sept. 23 for a 7 p.m. match, then takes on University of Mary (6-5, 1-1 NSIC) on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.
How to follow this weekend's matches
Live stats for Tuesday's match at Southwest Minnesota State are available
HERE
Live stats for Friday's match at Minot State are available
HERE
Live stats for Saturday's match at University of Mary 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 returns home for alumni appreciation weekend and the start of a four-match home stand
- The Cougars host MSU Moorhead on Friday, Sept. 30 then take on Northern State on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 4 p.m.
Series Histories
- Sioux Falls looks to snap a four-match losing skid to Southwest Minnesota State as they face the mustangs for the ninth time in the Cougars' brief NCAA Division II history
- In nine meetings, USF owns a 1-7 record, 1-3 on the road.
- In the eight previous matches, SMSU has been ranked in the top 10 of the AVCA poll and they are currently No. 5.
- In 2013, the Cougars battled the Mustangs in two five-set matches and won the second of the two meetings 3-2.
- Last season, USF fell at home to then-No. 3 SMSU and took the first set in the second leg of the matchup, but fell to the Mustangs, who held the No. 5 ranking at the time of the second meeting
- The Cougars have a 3-2 edge over Minot State since both programs joined the NSIC in 2012
- Alternating between wins and losses, the Cougars won the first meeting between the teams in 2012, the second contest in 2013, and most recently swept the Beavers in 2015
- On the road, USF is 1-1 against Minot State, securing a road win last year, 3-0
- Before a five-set loss last year, the Cougars had a four-match winning streak over University of Mary and they take a 4-1 series record into their Saturday match this weekend
- Sioux Falls won their first two matches, 3-1, then swept the next two, 3-0 before falling in five sets last season
- USF is 1-1 on the road against the Marauders
Scouting the competition: No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State
- The 2014 national runner-up Southwest Minnesota State enters the week with a 7-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in NSIC competition
- The Mustangs were ranked No. 4 last week before dropping their NSIC opener in five sets to then-No. 20 Augustana
- SMSU ranks second in the NSIC with a .306 attack percentage and an average of 14.89 kills per set
- Taylor Reiss leads the league with a 5.11 kills/set average and Eisha Oden is eighths in the NSIC with a .401 attack percentage
- Terry Culhane is in his 13th season as head coach of the Mustangs and he owns a 319-90 record in his tenure
Scouting the competition: Minot State
- Minot State enters the week with a 5-6 record and a 0-2 record after the first week of NSIC action and the Beavers travel to U-Mary on Tuesday
- MSU ranks last in the NSIC with a .146 attack percentage and is seventh with a .173 opponent attack percentage
- Minot State ranks fourth in the league with an average of 1.74 service aces per set
- Kelsey Dewulf is second in the league with an average of 0.54 aces per set and Cindy Pelo's 4.51 digs per set is seventh in the NSIC
- Ben Kaszeta is in his second season as the head coach of the Minot State program and he owns an 8-30 overall record
Scouting the competition: University of Mary
- University of Mary owns a 6-5 record this season, splitting their first weekend of conference matches for a 1-1 NSIC record
- The Marauders host Minot State on Tuesday before facing No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State on Friday
- U-Mary ranks 14th in the NSIC in both hitting percentage (.190) and opponent hitting percentage (.204) while ranking sixth in kills (13.35/set) and 15th in blocks (1.35/set)
- Lauren Randall takes on the lion's share of U-Mary's offense and ranks second in the NSIC with 4.65 kills per set
- Alex Brown is ninth in the NSIC with a 4.38 digs per seta average
- Thais Franca is in her second season as the head coach at University of Mary and she owns a 19-21 record with the Marauders
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 84-89 as the Cougars' head coach with a 31-51 mark in NSIC competition
- Overall, this is McCartney's 20th season as a collegiate head coach and he owns a 431-247 record
