SIOUX FALLS—Following two sweeps against Upper Iowa and Winona State, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team (8-5, 3-2 NSIC) will travel to No. 2 Concordia St.Paul (11-2, 5-0 NSIC) to face the defending DII national champions on Friday, Sept. 21 for a 6 p.m. match. USF will also play Minnesota State (10-3, 3-2 NSIC) on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 2 p.m.
 
The weekend sweep at the Stewart Center over Upper Iowa and Winona State, featured numerous standout efforts, including setter sophomore Krista Goerger. Against WSU, senior Bria Barfnecht, sophomore Averey Yaksich, and Goerger shined. Barfnecht had a team-high 16 kills on 26 attempts with two errors for a match hitting percentage of .538. Yaksich added 13 kills on 36 attempts for a .194 hitting percentage. Goerger  had a match-high 48 assists during the contest while also posting one kill, one service ace, and four digs. As a team, the Cougars finished the match with 56 kills on 134 attempts and 17 errors for a hitting percentage of .291.
 
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USF ninth in the NSIC standings
Following the two wins over Upper Iowa and Winona State, USF has moved into a tie for seventh in the NSIC. Of their five losses on the season, all five have come by teams nationally ranked in the top-25.  CSP is currently ranked second nationally and in the NSIC. Minnesota State is seventh in the conference, two spots ahead of the Cougars.
 
Series History
                Vs. Concordia-St.Paul – CSP leads 8-0
Heading into Friday's match with Concordia-St. Paul, the Cougars are still looking for their first win against the Division II juggernaut Golden Bears. CSP owns an 8-0 record against the Cougars since USF joined the NSIC and NCAA Division II in 2012, starting the regular season series. Concordia-St. Paul has won three matches against USF in four sets and the other five matches in the series by a 3-0 set score. At home, USF is 0-5 against the Golden Bears, with two of their three losses coming in four sets. CSP enters the weekend ranked No. 2 in the latest AVCA Coaches' Top 25 Poll and they have held a top-10 ranking in all eight matches against the Cougars. Last season, USF pushed Concordia-St. Paul in each of the three sets, but ended up getting swept, 3-0.
 
                Vs. Minnesota State- MSU leads 5-3
After a three-set loss last year, USF looks to bounce back this year against Minnesota State on Saturday. The Cougars are 3-5 against Minnesota State and the series has produced a number of classics. The first meeting was a five-set victory for the then-No. 11 Mavericks. In 2013, USF battled back from a 2-0 deficit to win in five, using 10-plus kills from Jordan Calef, Emily Johnson and Kate Hart. USF pulled out another five-set victory in 2014, riding 39 combined kills from Johnson and Hart for the victory. The Cougars dropped two matches in 2015, including a third consecutive five-set contest between the programsIn 2016, the Cougars turned the tides with Makenna Rockeman's 25 kills leading them to a 3-1 victory. Last season, the Cougars fell in three straight sets to MSU. At MSU, USF is 2-2 against the Mavericks.  
 
USF offensive consistency
As a team, the Cougars have posted a .283 hitting percentage that ranks second in the NSIC only behind Norther State (.383). USF currently has 700 total team kills, which is currently the most in the NSIC, in 50 sets for an average of 14.00 kills per set, which ranks third in the conference. USF has also elevated the service aspect of their offense, serving 78 aces in 50 sets for an average of 1.56 aces per set that ranks third in the NSIC.
 
Senior Lexi Scott is currently posting a .422 hitting percentage, which is third in currently the third highest in the conference. Scott has recorded 138 kills on 251 attempts with 32 errors on the season. Abby Feyereisen is right behind Scott with a .406 hitting percentage after totaling 85 kills on 173 attempts with 15 errors which is the sixth highest hitting percentage in the conference.
 
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.