Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SIOUX FALLS – Opening the season with high expectations, University of Sioux Falls Volleyball wasted no time dispatching their first two opponents as hosts of the 2017 Country Inns & Suites Invitational. Starting off Friday, the Cougars handily swept in-state foe Black Hills State in three quick sets (25-10, 25-13, 25-14) to register their first win of the season. In the evening, USF was pushed in each set, but the resilience of their all-conference players Makenna Rockeman and Lexi Scott paved the way for a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) of Fort Hays State to close the day.
 
USF wraps up the Country Inns & Suites Invitational tomorrow, hosting William Jewel College at 11:30 p.m. then taking on Arkansas-Fort Smith in the tournament finale at 7 p.m.
 
In the season opener against Black Hills State, USF was hyper-efficient on offense and even more impressive on defense. The Cougars hit .384 as a team, connecting on 42 kills with just nine errors, and Megan Hamstad directed the offense with a career-high 37 assists. In the first set alone, USF drilled 16 kills without committing a single attack error. Bria Barfnecht led that early charge with six error-free kills in the first set and finished tied with Scott for a team-high at 10 kills.
 
Although the offensive pace slowed for the Cougars, the results didn't change as USF rolled to two more resounding victories. Scott notched half her kills in the second set and added a block with Barfnecht. Abby Feyereisen and Rockeman started the set with a block and the Cougars built a five-point advantage early to cruise to the victory.
 
A 13-2 run in the third set all but completed the sweep. The Cougars surged ahead 15-4 on the back of KaSandra Springer and Lexi Scott blocks then freshman Eliza Dahly capped off the big run with consecutive aces. Fellow freshman Averey Yaksich carried that momentum to the final burst as she gave USF two of their final three points with a pair of kills.
 
In the second match, USF was challenged and even trailed late in the second and third sets, but they battled to sweep Fort Hays State in the nightcap. Rockeman was on fire to start the match, dropping seven kills in the opening set and finishing with a match-high 13 terminations. Scott steadily built up her kill total, posting nine in the final two frames to post 11, her second straight double-digit kill mark.
 
Fort Hays State made a late push to tie the first set at 18-18, but Anna Peterson's serving helped string together four straight points before a Scott block ended the first set, 25-21, in favor of the Cougars. It was USF who trailed in the second set, needing a 13-5 run to close the set with a cushion, taking it 25-20. Scott and Barfnecht tallied three kills each, Feyereisen notched two solo blocks and Hamstad dished out eight assists in their set-clinching run.
 
Looking to prolong the match, Fort Hays State shook off a third-set deficit to push ahead by two, but another late run by the Cougars was too much. USF's 12-9 lead disappeared and the Tigers held an 18-16 lead before a slew of attack errors preceded Feyereisen's kill that gave the Cougars a 22-18 advantage. Feyereisen tacked on another kill and Hamstad followed with an ace before Rockeman connected on her 13th kill to seal the match.