SIOUX FALLS— The University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team (6-5, 1-2 NSIC), which only has lost to teams ranked in the top-25, will host a pair of matches against Upper Iowa (8-3, 1-2 NSIC) on Friday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m., and Winona State (3-8, 0-3 NSIC) on Saturday, Sept. 15 for a 2 p.m. start time.
 
On Tuesday, the Cougars lost to No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-19) in Marshall, Minn. Sophomore Averey Yaksich continued her outstanding season by leading the USF offense with nine kills. Yaksich ranks third on the team with 111 kills on 298 attacks for a .238 hitting percentage.  Five times she has double figures in kills and owns a pair of double doubles (kills, digs) while totaling 84 on the season.
 
Follow the Cougars
Never miss an update by following USF Athletics and USF Volleyball on social media. Check out all of the Cougar programs' Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with the USF Athletics social media directory at USFCougars.com/socialmedia.
 
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.
 
USF currently 10th in NSIC standings
After the loss to SMSU, USF moved down to 10th place in the updated standings. All of the five losses have occurred to teams currently ranked in the AVCA's top-25 list. Upper Iowa is ranked one spot above USF in the standings, currently placed in ninth. Winona State is currently 15^th in the NSIC standings.
 
Series Histories
                Vs. Upper Iowa- Series tied 4-4
Heading into Friday's match against the Upper Iowa, the series is tied 4-4 since USF's inception into the NSIC in 2012. The Cougars had the series advantage, 4-3 until last season when they traveled to Upper Iowa where the Peacocks swept USF in three straight sets. In their last meeting, Makenna Rockeman, Averey Yaksich, and Lexi Scott each recorded six kills during the loss. In 2015, Bria Barfnecht set a record against Upper Iowa when she posted 15 kills with zero errors in the, 3-1 Cougar victory.
               
                Vs. Winona State- Winona leads series 6-2
Winona ultimately holds the series lead over USF six games to two, but last season the Cougars snapped a five game losing streak against the Warriors after beating them, 3-1. Makenna Rockeman had a dominating performance on offense totaling 15 kills and three service aces. Lexi Scott had 11 kills throughout the match, and added five blocks to her stat line. The team had 45 total kills while posting a .184 hitting percentage during the 2017 matchup. Prior to last season's meeting, USF had fallen five consecutive times against the Warriors, once in five sets, three times in four sets and one sweep on the road in 2015.
 
USF offense efficiency
As a team, the Cougars have posted a .276 hitting percentage that ranks third in the NSIC. USF currently has 592 total team kills, which is currently the most in the NSIC, in 44 sets for an average of 13.45 kills per set, which ranks sixth in the conference. USF has also elevated the service aspect of their offense, serving 70 aces in 44 sets for an average of 1.59 aces per set that ranks fourth in the NSIC.
 
 
Seniors continue to lead
Senior outside hitter Makenna Rockeman ranks as USF's DII career leader in kills with 1,133, including 107 kills in 2018; ranks also as USF's career leader in attacks with 3,563. Bria Barfnecht, who has been named to two all-tourney teams, has registered three doubles doubles and owns nine matches with double digit kills. With 133 kills on the season, she leads USF while holding a .314 hitting percentage. Most recently, she had 13 kills and eight digs in a five-set setback to Wayne State College and a double double of 17 kills and 10 digs in a five-set win over city rival Augustana. With 133 kills this season, she ranks fourth all-time at USF (total). With 392 digs in her career, she is sixth all-time at USF. Lexi Scott ranks fourth in the NSIC in hitting at .422 with 119 kills on 211 attacks. In win over Augustana, hit .684 with 13 kills on 19 attacks. Scott also had 13 kills against Wayne State.
 
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.