SIOUX FALLS - For the second year in a row, the University of Sioux Falls volleyball team will start the season by heading west. A year ago, the Cougars finished 2-2 in Golden, Colo. This year, the Cougars will go to Chadron, Neb., to partake in the Best Western West Hills Inn Classic on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7. The Cougars will have two matches on slate for both days. The Cougars will have two matches on slate for both days. The Cougars have not played a non-conference in Nebraska since 2015 where they last played and defeated Chadron State 3-1 during the Nebraska-Kearney Tournament.

The Rundown: (2018 records in parentheses)
Fri., Aug. 6, 12:30 p.m. vs. Fort Hays State (8-22, 2-16 MIAA)
Fri., Aug. 6, 5:30 p.m. vs. Montana State (13-17, 7-13 GNAC)
Sat., Aug. 7, 10 a.m. vs. South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (4-24, 1-17 RMAC)
Sat., Aug. 7, 3 p.m. vs. Chadron State (8-19, 6-12 RMAC)

The Fort Hays State Tigers, a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics (MIAA) Association since 2006, will return to Chadron for the first time since 2005, the last year the Tigers were members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)d. The Tigers are directed by second-year head coach Jessica Wood-Atkins.

The Montana State Yellowjackets, a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) since 2007, go to Nebraska with fourth-year head coach Casey Williams at the helm. This will be the first meeting between the Cougars and Yellowjackets in volleyball.

The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Hardrockers, who are in their sixth year of being a RMAC member, are coached by first-year head coach Lauren Torvi-Prochaka. This is the eighth matchup between the Cougars and Hardrockers dating back to 1998, with the Cougars winning five of the seven previous meetings.

The Chadron State Eagles, a longtime member of the RMAC and host of the tournament, are also debuting a new head coach in 2019, naming Jenifer Stadler as their head coach in May. The Cougars won both of the previous matchups in 2015 and 2011, 3-1, with the Eagles.

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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.

Cougars picked 10th in NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll
After a historic 2018 season, the Cougars was tabbed to finish 10th after receiving 114 points in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released on Monday, August 12 by the league office.

Northern State was listed as the favorite with 209 poll points and six first place votes. NSU was followed by Concordia-St. Paul with five place votes and Minnesota Duluth with four first place votes as they both finished in a second place tie with 203 poll points. Southwest Minnesota State was the only other team to receive a first place vote and had 170 poll points, which placed them fifth just behind fourth place Wayne State with 178 poll points.

Volleyball receives votes in AVCA Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll
The Cougars got a boost of confidence with an appearance in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll released on Tuesday. Though they are not in the Top 25, the Cougars received 31 votes and one of the first teams out of the Top 25.

Averey Yaksich named USF Player to Watch by NSIC
Leading USF will be junior Avery Yaksich, who earned All-NSIC honors a year ago and was named USF's Player to Watch in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll announcement. Yaksich, who played in all but one set for the Cougars, finished the season with 298 kills, which ranked third on the team a year ago. She finished with 2.68 kills per set on 900 attacks and had 237 digs which ranked third on USF's squad. However, Yaksich's kills and digs totals represent the most by a returning player for USF. She finished with seven doubles (kills, digs) and had a season-high 16 kills twice. Additionally, she had a season-best hitting percentage of .529 (10 kills on 17 attacks) as USF recorded a win over No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul on Oct. 27, 2018.

Feyereisen, Springer, Goerger, and Maloney among key players for Cougars in 2019
Aside from Yaksich, the Cougars also return key performers in seniors Abby Feyereisen, KaSandra Springer, and junior Krista Goerger. Feyereisen, the team's top-returning attacker, finished 2018 with a .357 attacking percentage (186 kills on 403 attacks). Springer, who was USF's libero a year ago, collected a team-high 360 digs or 3.27 per match. Goerger had a breakout season in 2018 with 10.57 assists per set which ranked seventh in the league. Her total of 1,057 assists ranked sixth overall in the NSIC and she was second in the league with 0.45 service aces per set on 46 aces in 102 serves. Goerger had a career high six service aces against William Jewell, which was the second highest amount of aces in a match in USF Division II history.

USF will also look to Emporia State transfer, senior Allie Maloney, who set a Hornet program single match dig record with 46 against Central Oklahoma. Maloney, a three-year starter at ESU, was also named to the All-MIAA team and "Defensive Specialist of the Week" in 2016 and 2018.