SIOUX FALLS— With three wins in four matches, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team (9-6, 4-3 NSIC) will hit the road for a pair of matches at Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston this weekend. The Cougars will travel to Bemidji State (5-10, 2-5 NSIC) on Friday, Sept. 28 for a 6 p.m. start time. The Cougars will then turn around and travel to Minnesota State in Crookston (3-12, 1-6 NSIC) on Saturday, Sept. 29 for a 4 p.m. match.
 
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USF eighth in NSIC standings
Following a 3-1 road win against Minnesota State, the Cougars moved into a tie with Wayne State for seventh in the league at 4-3. The Cougars, which stand 9-6 overall, are now in the top half of the very strong NSIC, where the top three teams in the conference are each ranked top-five in the country. The NSIC currently has five teams either ranked in the ACVA's top-25 or receiving votes.
 
Series History
                Bemidji State – USF leads series 8-0
Despite dropping a set to Bemidji State in each of the last three meetings, Sioux Falls still own an unbeaten record against the Beavers with a 8-0 record. The Cougars rolled to five straight 3-0 wins over BSU to open the series and added a trio of 3-1 victories last year. USF hopes to add one more to their perfect 4-0 record on the road and improve their 7-0 edge in NSIC regular season matchups. In the last match against BSU, Makenna Rockeman connected on 16 kills and Bria Barfnecht added 13 terminations.
 
                Minnesota Crookston – USF leads series 6-2
Sioux Falls enters the weekend on a six-match winning streak against Minnesota Crookston and holds a 6-2 edge in the series. The Cougars dropped their first two matches against the Golden Eagles but broke through with a five-set victory over UMC in 2014 then rolled up four more wins since then. On the road, USF is 3-1 against Minnesota Crookston, taking the last three matches. In NSIC regular season contests, USF holds a 5-2 edge. During the last match, Averey Yaksich and Lexi Scott each recorded 11 kills. The Cougars defense held UMC to a match .133 attack percentage during their last meeting.
 
Barnecht registers strong weekend vs MSU-Mankato
Senior Bria Barfnecht  hit .431 with 25 kills on 58 attacks against CSP and Minnesota State; recording her 5^th double double with 19 kills (2^nd best total of season) on 32 attacks (.500 hitting percentage) and season high 15 digs in USF's four set win over Minnesota State on the road. 
 
USF has three of top five leaders for kills all-time on same squad
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 1,171 which is first all-time with senior Bria Barfnecht 4^th with 876 and senior Lexi Scott, 5^th at 839.
 
Cougars among top offensive teams in the conference
USF has continued to put up impressive offensive numbers against opponents this season. On the year, the Cougars have totaled a .278 hitting percentage which ranks second in the NSIC. Senior middle blocker Lexi Scott has been extremely efficient this year by totaling 154 kills on 293 attacks for a .386 hitting percentage, which ranks fourth in the NSIC. Sophomore Abby Feyereisen is ranked sixth in the conference behind Scott with a .382 hitting percentage. The Cougars have three players, including Barfnecht who is ranked 10th, inside the top 10 in the NSIC in hitting percentage.
 
The Cougars have accumulated 744 assists in 57 sets for an average of 13.05 assists per set, which ranks fifth in the conference. Sophomore setter Krista Goerger has accounted for 570 assists in 57 sets for 10.00 assists per set, which places her eighth in the NSIC. Krista Goerger had her second highest assist total with 56 in win over Minnesota State, helping USF hit .300 vs Mavs
 
USF has shown their team's power this season while posting 788 total kills on the year that ranks second in the conference.
 
As a team, USF averages 13.82 kills per set, which is good for fifth in the league. Senior McKenna Rockeman has been a consistent part of the Cougar offense over her career, and she holds the USF career record in kills. Rockeman has 121 kills on the year and leads the team with 377 attacks.
 
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.