SIOUX FALLS—After winning nine of their last 11 matches, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team (15-7, 10-4 NSIC) will open up a four-match home stand beginning with the top-ranked team in the country, Northern State (21-1, 13-1 NSIC), on Friday, Oct. 19 at 6 p.m., in the friendly confines of the Stewart Center. USF will turn around and host Minnesota State Moorhead (9-12. 5-9 NSIC) on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m.
 
USF, which has won three straight matches, is coming off of a pair of weekend sweeps against both the U- Mary (25-14, 25-15, 25-14) and Minot State (25-23, 25-16, 25-17).  With the win, the Cougars, who improved to 15-7 overall, remained in a tie for fourth place in the NSIC with Southwest Minnesota State at 10-4. USF has already matched last year's win total of 15.
 
USF, which has faced eight ranked opponents this season, stand 4-2 in home matches. The last time USF was at home they upset No. 11 ranked Southwest Minnesota State in five sets, 3-2 (8-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23 and 17-15).  It was USF's first win over a ranked opponent this season. USF has four players with double digit kills, including sophomore Averey Yaksich who had a double double, her fourth on the season, with 14 kills and 15 digs. Makenna Rockeman added 15 kills and nine digs.
 
In their most recent match against Minot State, three USF players recorded double digit kills with sophomore Yaksich leading the team with 15 kills on 27 attempts for a .444 hitting percentage. Senior Lexi Scott posted 13 kills while hitting .400 while senior Rockeman added 10 kills on 22 attempts and hit .364.
 
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Series Histories
                Northern State– NSU leads 5-3
With wins in three of the last five matches, Sioux Falls has closed the gap on in-state foe Northern State in a series that enters its seventh year. The Cougars are 3-5 against the Wolves in their Division II era and all three wins over the Wolves have come with NSU ranked in the top 25. The Cougars dropped the first three matches in the series, which started in 2012 when USF joined the NSIC. Their first victory came in 2014 when Emily Tolkamp (Johnson) and Jordan Calef were part of a three-Cougar attack that combined for 52 kills in a five-set win at then-No. 24 Northern State. Two years later, the Cougars swept Northern State, defeating the No. 11 Wolves at home and completing the sweep on the road with another 3-1 victory over the then-No. 14 Wolves. USF's big three of Rockeman, Scott and Barfnecht combined for 44 kills in their home victory then Rockeman and Scott were joined by Calef's 14 kills in the second match for a total of 54 kills in a four-set win. USF is 3-1 when playing the Wolves at home.
 
                MSU Moorhead – USF leads series 5-3
A five-set road victory in 2013 sparked a four-match winning streak for USF and the Cougars own a 5-3 edge in the series against MSU Moorhead, heading into the ninth match since the Cougars joined the NCAA Division II ranks and became members of the NSIC. MSU Moorhead and USF is 3-2 in matches played in Moorhead, Minn. The Cougars dropped the first two matches of the series before breaking through behind Emily Tolkamp (Johnson) and Kate Hart's offensive work on the pins for a five-set victory in Moorhead, Minn. The following season, USF rolled to a 3-0 road sweep of the Dragons and followed in 2015 with a 3-1 victory at home. In 2016, middle blockers Jordan Calef and Lexi Scott combined for 27 kills and USF hit .343 as a team to sweep MSUM in the first leg of the season series. In their last matchup, Makenna Rockeman paced the Cougar offense with 17 kills and four aces as USF dominated MSUM, 3-1. At home, USF is 2-1 against MSU Moorhead.
 
USF continues their strong offensive campaign
The Cougars rank third in the NSIC in hitting percentage at .282 (1135 K, 2735 A); fifth in kills (13.47 per set, 1135 total), sixth in assists per set at 13.04 (1069 in 82 sets); sixth in blocks at 2.07 per set (265 block assists and 37 block solos) and third in service aces with 137 or 1.67 per set
 
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 1,230 which is first all-time with senior Bria Barfnecht 4^th with 956 and senior Lexi Scott, 5^th at 919. The trio of seniors are the first in school history to have 900 career kills at the same time.
 
Barfnecht leads the USF offense with seven total double-doubles on the season.
 
Scott ranks in the top five in two categories, sitting fourth in hitting in the NISC at .394 (234 kills on 439 attacks) while sitting tied for fourth in blocks at 1.04 per set
 
Yaksich accumulated 38 kills over last week's three-match span, including a 15 kill outing against Minot State where she recorded seven kills in the third and final set.
 
Hamstad steps in big for the Cougars
USF senior setter Megan Hamstad, who is filling in for injured starter Krista Goerger, had a combined 125 assists (11.36 assists per set) in the three wins over SMSU, U-Mary, and Minot State. Hamstad also recorded one kill, one service ace, and four digs against Minot, two kills and two block assists against SMSU, and one service ace and two digs against U-Mary.
 
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.