SIOUX FALLS—Following a dramatic five-set comeback over No.11 Southwest Minnesota State on Tuesday (Oct. 9), the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team (13-7, 8-4 NSIC) will hit the road with plenty of momentum as they will face a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North division opponents this weekend.
 
The Cougars have won 5-of-6 matches as they face U-Mary (3-17, 0-12 NSIC) on Friday, Oct., 12 at 6 p.m. They will then travel to Minot State (10-11, 4-8 NSIC) to face the Beavers on Saturday, Oct. 13 for a 2 p.m. match. At 8-4, USF is tied for fourth in the NSIC with SMSU and Wayne State.
 
During USF's thrilling victory over SMSU, unsung seniors Megan Hamstad and Anna Peterson stepped up in a big way for the Cougars. Peterson recorded a season-best 21 digs and added two assists from the libero spot while Hamstad had 44 set assists, two kills, and two block assists after replacing starter Krista Goerger.
 
USF, which had four players reach double digits in kills, also recorded a first-ever home win over the Mustangs. Sophomore Averey Yaksich had a double had her fourth double double with 14 kills and 15 digs. Senior Makenna Rockeman added 15 kills and nine digs while seniors Bria Barfnecht and Lexi Scott also reached double digits in kills with 10 each.
 
The Cougars are cemented in the top half of the strong NSIC, where the top three teams in the conference are each ranked top-10 in the country. The NSIC currently has five teams either ranked in the ACVA's top-25 or receiving votes.
 
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Watch live
For all USF Volleyball home matches and all Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contests, watch the Cougars live on Stretch Internet at USFCougars.com/watch. Live stats will be available for all matches. Links to home match live stats are available at USFCougars.com/livestats while links to all road match live stats are available on the USF Volleyball schedule at USFCougars.com.
 
 
Series Histories
U-Mary – USF leads 7-1
After suffering their first loss to -Mary in 2015, the Cougars have won their last three matchups against the Marauders. Last season, the Cougars fended off Mary in route to a 3-1 victory at home. Rockeman led USF with 12 kills, while Scott added 10 kills and accumulated six blocks throughout the contest. Sioux Falls is a perfect 5-0 at home against U-Mary since USF joined the NSIC in 2012. Three of the five USF home wins have been sweeps while the first meeting in 2012 was a 3-1 victory for the Cougars.
 
Minot State – USF leads series 6-2
In seven matches against Minot State, the Cougars have rolled to six victories and been clipped twice in five sets. In the initial three years of the series, USF and Minot State split four matches with the Cougars earning two 3-1 victories and the Beavers snagging two five-set wins. Since then, USF has dominated the series by sweeping Minot State three of four times, including twice last season. In last season's 3-1 victory, USF dominated on offense with Yaksich leading the way with 16 kills. Defensively, four different Cougars recorded multiple blocks, led by middle blockers Abby Feyereisen and Lexi Scott who combined for nine total blocks.  
 
USF a top five offense in the NSIC
Consistency has been a constant theme throughout the 2018 season, and USF continues to produce an impressively high hitting percentage. Through the first half of the season, the Cougars have hit for a .273 clip, which ranks third in the conference. Scott leads the team hitting .391, and currently sits fourth in the conference in hitting percentage. Feyereisen continues to have a strong junior campaign and has posted a .350 hitting percentage, good for eighth in the NSIC. Barfnecht leads the Cougars with overall kills on the season and an efficient .347 hitting percentage on the season, which ranks ninth in the NSIC. She has recorded seven double doubles.
 
USF has produced strong kill numbers throughout the season with 1,043 total kills (third in NSIC) in 76 sets for 13.72 kills per set (fifth in NSIC). Barfnecht has tallied 244 kills on the season to lead the Cougar offense. Scott has added 212 kills and Yaksich has totaled 201 kills on the year. Rockeman, USF's career leader in kills, has accumulated 189 kills this season and leads the Cougars in overall attempts (597).
 
Three of the top five career leaders in kills at USF on one team
USF has three of the top five kills leaders on the team at the same time for the first time in school history as senior Makenna Rockeman has 1,216 which is first all-time with Barfnecht at No. 4 with 939 and Scott at No. 5 with 897.
 
Leading the Pride
Joel McCartney took over the USF Volleyball program in July of 2011, its final year of the transition to NCAA Division II and is entering his eighth season as the program's head coach.  McCartney came to USF after a four-year rebuilding project as the head coach of the University of Georgia volleyball program. In McCartney's tenure, the Bulldogs compiled 66 overall wins including 32 in the SEC. Prior to his arrival at USF, McCartney posted a record of 459-263 while coaching at Bellevue for four years, Winthrop for six years, and Georgia for four years.
 
Under McCartney's leadership, the Cougar program has steadily climbed the competitive ladder, becoming a Top-50 power in arguably the strongest (NSIC) conference in the nation. McCartney inherited the Cougar program in its final year of the transition, and since that time, he has led the team's improvement from a ranking of 242 to a program record 29 in the PABLO Ratings Index. During McCartney's tenure at USF, the program has achieved a 118-110 record overall and a 55-68 in conference record.