KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Led by the dominating middle presence of senior Lexi Scott and solid outside play from sophomore Averey Yaksich and senior Bria Barfnecht, the University of Sioux Falls Women's Volleyball Team (5-3) finished 2-0 on Saturday and 3-1 overall at the Rockhurst Classic.

The Cougars, which closed the nonconference part of their season at 5-3, defeated William Jewell (2-5), 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-22) and Northwest Missouri State, 3-1 (25-22, 16-25, 25-20, 27-25). On Friday, they defeated Emporia State, 3-0 and lost to No. 6 Rockhurst, 3-2.

Over the four matches at the Rockhurst Classic, the Cougars, which will open the NSIC season at home against No. 20 Wayne State at 6 p.m., on Sept. 6, hit .345 with 199 kills on 414 attacks while collecting 184 assists, 133 digs and 27 service aces. Scott led USF with 46 kills (3.07 per set) on 75 attacks for a .480 hitting percentage. She also had 11 total blocks or 0.73 per set. Barfnecht had 40 kills on 74 attacks for a .405 hitting percentage while collecting 19 digs. USF also had 35 kills from Yaksich on 88 attacks for a .273 hitting mark while senior Makenna Rockeman provided 30 kills on 84 attacks and a .214 hitting mark. Sophomore Krista Goerger led USF with 113 assists or 7.53 per set.

In the two-match winning streak today, the Cougars hit .402 with 109 kills on 204 attacks and just 27 errors. The Cougars, which won six of the seven sets contested today, averaged 15.5 kills per set and recorded 11 service aces, 71 digs and seven blocks. Individually, USF had big performances from Scott, Yaksich and Barfnecht, who all had 24 kills. Scott hit .600 with her 24 kills on 35 attacks and six total blocks. Barfnecht hit .439 while Yaksich had a .373 hitting mark. Goerger totaled 59 assists and led USF with six service aces.

Sioux Falls 3 William Jewell 0
After a slow start, USF rolled to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-22) sweep of William Jewell (2-5) as Yaksich and Barfnecht had 10 kills each and the Cougars hit .289 as a team. The Cougars converted 42 kills on 90 attacks with 40 assists, eight service aces and 46 digs.

After trailing 11-3 early in the first set, USF rallied for a 25-21 victory over William Jewell. Led by Barfnecht, who had six kills on nine attacks, USF had a 22-10 run to turn things around. USF hit .444 as a team with 20 kills on 29 attacks.

By hitting. 281 (14 kills on 32 attacks), USF opened up a 2-0 set lead over William Jewell with a 25-16 win. The Cougars rushed to a 7-2 lead and were never threatened. USF had a 20-7 lead after a 5-0 run. A kill by Yaksich and attack error by William Jewell closed the match in USF's favor. 

In the third set, William Jewell jumped to a 5-2 lead and led 15-7 before the Cougars rallied. USF had a 7-1 run to close within, 17-14. Another 4-0 run enabled USF to tie the match at 19. Down 22-20, USF scored the final five points or the match with Goerger twice recording aces to cause problems for William Jewell. While WJC was hitting .029, the Cougars had a .172 mark with 12 kills on 29 attacks.

USF 3 Northwest Missouri State 1
Led by Scott, Yaksich and Barfnecht, who all had double digit kills, the Cougars turned back Northwest Missouri State, 3-1 (25-22, 16-25, 25-20, 27-25) in the second match of the day. Scott had a team-high 17 kills on 24 attacks for a .625 hitting percentage and added four block assists and a solo block. Yaksich had 14 kills on 27 attacks for a .407 hitting mark while Barfnecht was also efficient on her hitting. She had 14 kills on 22 attacks for a .545 hitting percentage. Goerger had 38 set assists and five digs. Overall, the Cougars hit .491 with 67 kills on 114 attacks. In the sets USF won against NWMSU, they hit a combined .469 or better in all three sets.

With five attacks from Yaksich and four from Rockeman, who combined for 9-for-9 in kills off attacks, USF recorded a 25-22 win in the opening set over NWMSU. USF hit .700 with 15 kills on 20 attacks. During the opening set the Cougars moved from a 12-9 advantage to 17-10 advantage and cruised in for the victory.

In the second set, NWMS opened up a 6-2 lead and controlled the play throughout to tie the match at 1-1. They had 15 kills on 23 attacks for a .522 hitting percentage.

The Cougars opened quickly in set three, building a 9-5 lead. After NWMSU took off on a 5-0 run for a 14-12 lead, Cougars receive kills from Goerger and Rockeman, who had nine in the match, to tie the set at 14. USF grabbed a 16-15 lead after a Yaksich's kill, which was her 10^th of the match.  USF closed the set on a 9-5 run to capture the third set, 25-20. While NWMSU hit .333 (11 kills on 27 attacks) USF was more efficient with 22 kills on 36 attacks and a .556 hitting percentage. The Cougars had just two errors. 
In the final set, the two teams battled back and forth. USF opened up a 6-4 lead on an attack error by NWMSU. USF led, 10-8, before the match was tied for three times over the next several points.

But USF responded with a four-point run for an 18-14 lead as Scott had a service ace and Rockeman a kill. The Cougars took a 23-21 lead on a kill by Yaksich but NWMSU rallied to tie the match at 24. With the fourth set tied at 25, the Cougars ended the match with kills by Rockeman and Barfnecht.

In the highly contested fourth set, both teams played extremely well on offense as USF outhit NWMSU, .469 (19 kills on 32 attacks) to .444 (16 kills on 27 attacks).