*all rankings are as of the AVCA Week 6 Coaches Poll (Oct. 7), unless noted otherwise

SIOUX FALLS- The No. 24 University of Sioux Falls volleyball team, after dropping three hard-fought matches at home, will go to Minnesota this weekend to battle Minnesota State on Friday and No. 7 Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday. The Cougars are under the direction of head coach Joel McCartney, and are in their seventh year in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II.

The Rundown (2019 record):
Fri., Oct. 11, 6 p.m. at Minnesota State Mavericks (9-5, 2-4 NSIC)
Sat., Oct. 12, 5 p.m. at No. 7 Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (11-3, 5-1 NSIC)

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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.

Minnesota State Mavericks (9-5, 2-4 NSIC):
The Mavericks, under the direction of fifth-year head coach Lori Rittenhouse-Wollmuth, hold a 9-5 record overall, losing only one non-conference match to the No. 24 Barry (Fla.) Buccaneers.

In NSIC action, the Mavericks have had a bit of a rough go of things, despite starting with a pair of road 3-1 victories over Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston. Since then, the Mavericks have went 0-4 against St. Cloud State, Minnesota Duluth, Wayne State, and Augustana, with the first three all currently ranked in the Top 15. In those four matches, the Mavericks have only taken one set against then-No. 4 Minnesota Duluth.

On the court, the Mavericks are led by senior Morgan Olson, who has played in 43 sets for the Mavericks. Olson has hit at a .322 percentage (188K-63E-388TA), good for 4.37 K/set. TThe second touch for the Mavericks tends to go to sophomore Dana Schindler, who has recorded 410 assists on 1,015 attempts (9.11 A/set). Junior Mara Quam has been the libero the Mavericks have leaned to, with Quam recording 196 digs (4.17 digs/set) and 16 service aces.

No. 7 Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (11-3,  5-1 NSIC):
The Golden Bears are led by 17th-year head coach Brady Starkey, the coach with the highest winning percentage (.897 (534-61)) in all divisions of NCAA women's volleyball and has led to the Golden Bears to all nine of their program's national titles. As of 2019, the Golden Bears have a respectable 11-3 record and 5-1 in NSIC matches. Their two non-conference losses came to the No. 17 Hillsdale (Mich.) Chargers and defending national champion Tampa (Fla.) Spartans.

The Golden Bears' sole NSIC loss came at home to No. 4 Minnesota Duluth in straight sets. Three of the Golden Bears' NSIC wins went to five sets, with the first coming to Bemidji State in Bemidji, Minn. The Golden Bears have also went to five sets against No. 11 St. Cloud State and No. 15 Wayne State. Before the Golden Bears host the Cougars, they will have a Top-10 matchup with the No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs on Friday.

The potent offense for the Golden Bears has been led by freshman Jasmine Mulvihill, who was previously named NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16. Mulvihill has recorded 3.50 K/set (196K-62E-466TA) which puts her with a second-best .288 hitting percentage (minimum 100 attempts). Two Golden Bears have recorded more than 5 assists/set, with Payton Nutter decisively leading the way with 429 assists (7.94 A/set). Ellie Veldman has also recorded 249 assists (5.30 A/set). Defensively, Tori Hanson and junior Erin Fallert—reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week—lead the way, with Hanson recording a team-leading 255 digs compared to Fallert's 211 digs.

USF Volleyball ranked No. 24 in AVCA Week 6 Coaches Poll:
The Cougars are ranked No. 24 (tied with Barry) in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll: Week 5 released this week (Oct. 7). 

USF, which has been ranked three straight weeks, is coming off loss to No. 19 Winona State and No. 18 Upper Iowa. The Cougars were ranked for the first time in school history on Sept. 16 at No. 24. USF has advanced as high as No. 19 after a school-record 11-0 start to the season.

No. 24 Sioux Falls Cougars (11-3, 3-3 NSIC):
The Cougars, as aforementioned, are 11-3 over and 3-3 in NSIC action. The Cougars went into conference play with a perfect 8-0 record, the first time in program history. The Cougars also won their first 22 sets of the season, a school record for consecutive sets won.

Heading into conference play losing only one set, the Cougars continued their hot streak with a road sweep of Minot State and Mary. The Cougars extended their set dominance to 34-1 with a straight set victory in their home-opener against MSU Moorhead and a first set win over No. 8 Northern State. Against Northern State, the Wolves' offense were able to come to fruition after dropping set one to take the next three sets from the Cougars in a battle at the Stewart Center. 

The Cougars had two more battles at the Stewart Center when No. 19 Winona State and No. 18 Upper Iowa came to town last weekend. Against the then-unranked Warriors, the Cougars went tooth-and-nail in two of the three sets, but were unable to get on the favoring side of the scoreboard in the affair. The Peacocks were able to show signs of excellence, taking a 2-0 match lead over the Cougars into intermission. The Cougars were able to show resilience though, taking the next two sets against the Peacocks to send it to a decisive fifth set that the Cougars nearly took to complete the comeback.

Leading the Cougars offensively is senior Abby Feyereisen, who is second in Division II in hitting percentage (.441). Feyereisen has averaged 3.11 K/set (137K-22E-261TA) and seven service aces. Senior KaSandra Springer leads Division II in aces/set, totaling 33 service aces (0.85 aces/set). Junior Krista Goerger has handled most of the second hits for the Cougars, recording 466 assists (10.59 assists/set) in 44 sets. Defensively, senior Allie Maloney has recorded 177 digs (4.32 digs/set) and five service aces.

The Cougars' history vs. Minnesota State and No. 7 Concordia-St. Paul:
The Cougars have faced the Mavericks eight times prior to Friday, with the Cougars holding a 5-3 advantage over the Mavericks. The Cougars currently hold a two-match winning streak over the Mavericks, as the Cougars winning both of the home-and-home series a year ago 3-1. The Cougars are 3-1 in Mankato, losing in straight sets in 2015.

Against the Golden Bears, the Cougars have been a little less fortunate, going 2-7 against CSP. However, the Cougars and the Golden Bears did face off against each other three times in 2018, with the Cougars upsetting the Golden Bears at the Stewart Center and again in St. Paul in the opening round of the NSIC Tournament three matches later.

Where the Cougars stand in the NSIC: