BISMARCK, N.D. - The No. 24 University of Sioux Falls volleyball team started Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play with a record of 8-0, but road sweeps of Minot State on Friday and U-Mary on Saturday extended the Cougars' winning streak to 10-0.

Ninth-year head coach Joel McCartney was very direct in his thoughts of the sweep and start of NSIC play, saying "anytime you get a sweep in this conference, especially on the road... you take it and don't ask questions."

Leading the Cougars in the 25-16, 25-21, 25-19 sweep of the U-Mary Marauders was redshirt senior middle blocker Abby Feyereisen who put on a stellar performance against the Marauders. Feyereisen tied a school record previously set by former teammate Bria Barfnecht in 2018, finishing the match with a hitting percentage of .750 (16K-1E-20TA). Along with her school-record hitting percentage, Feyereisen also recorded two service aces and a team-leading two block assists.

Senior outside hitter KaSandra Springer, in her second game back from injury, also had a good day with her .348 hitting percentage (9K-1E-23TA) and four digs. Coach McCartney had a lot of praise with Springer's return, saying that "it was good to get [Springer] back in the line up this weekend and she looked good.  She will continue to ramp up her game as she feels stronger, but her leadership on the court is important for us."

The Cougars, after sweeping this weekend's matches, will return to the Stewart Center for their 2019 home-opener when MSU Moorhead and No. 8 Northern State come to town on Friday and Saturday, respectively. But what does Coach McCartney think of the Cougars being undefeated, the matchups next weekend, and of their home-opener against the Dragons? "We will continue to focus on the plate in front of us rather than the entire spread," McCartney said. "It seems to be working well for this group right now and I hope we can keep the momentum moving in the right direction. We are excited to get home and play in front of Coo fans!"

In the first set against the Marauders, the Cougars looked really comfortable, starting the set on a 13-4 run that began with a Marauder attack error and ended with a Feyereisen service ace. Down 17-6, the Marauders were able to rattle off an 8-3 run to make it a 20-14 Cougar lead, but the Cougars were able to finish the set on a 5-2 run that was capped by a set point service ace by freshman outside hitter Nicole Jacobson.

The Cougars were able to get things going in their favor in the second set with a 9-2 run to start the match. The Cougars were able to escalate their lead to 17-8, but were counter by a 9-4 run to make it a four-point, 21-17 Cougar lead. Both teams were able to score four points after the run, but it was a kill from Springer that ended the set and gave the Cougars a 2-0 match lead heading into intermission.

Third set action started with a back-and-forth affair, with neither team being capable of separating from one another. The crucial point in the set came with the Marauders up 16-15, as Jacobson got a kill to tie the set at 16, but more importantly for the Cougars, started a 10-3 run that ended with a kill by Springer on match point, giving the Cougars the 25-19 set win and 3-0 match victory.