CHADRON, NEB. - For the University of Sioux Falls volleyball team (2-0), the 2019 season started with a pair of straight set victories at the Chicoine Center on Friday. Leading the Cougars against the Fort Hays State Tigers and Montana State Billings Yellowjackets were KaSandra Springer, Krista Goerger, and Averey Yaksich.

Springer turned in a double-double (12 kills, 10 digs) versus the Tigers, then continued her hot streak with six aces against the Yellowjackets. Yaksich, also got a double-double versus the Yellowjackets. Goerger neared a double-double against the Tigers, falling a kill shy while having 13 digs.

Between both games, the Cougars held the Tigers and Yellowjackets to a combined hitting percentage of .122.

The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday at Chadron where they will take on the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and Chadron State, with start times of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

(RV) Sioux Falls 3, Fort Hays State 0
Against Fort Hays State, the Cougars were able to be dominant throughout the game, taking the match in straight sets (25-16, 25-22, 25-16). 

In set 1, the Cougars were able to jump ahead thanks to a 10-3 run to begin the game. This run forced an early Tigers timeout, which would be followed seven rallies later when the Cougars climbed to a 14-6 lead. Out of the timeout, the Tigers were able to go on an 7-4 run to get within five of the Cougars. The run was well met with a 7-3 run to end the set 25-16 in favor of the Cougars.

Set two saw a more balanced game, with the Cougars narrowly outhitting the Tigers .227-to-.176. Despite the decrease in offense, the Cougars were able to survive the Tigers' push 25-22 to take a 2-0 set lead into intermission.

The Cougars would return to their form in set three, hitting at a clip of .267 compared to the Tigers' game worst .065 hitting percentage. This was all the Cougars needed to take the victory over the Tigers with their 25-16 set three win.

(RV) Sioux Falls 3, Montana State Billings 0
After their 3-0 victory over Fort Hays State earlier in the day, the Cougars were able to continue their hot start with another sweep (25-20, 25-17, 25-15), this time against the Yellowjackets.

The Cougars and Yellowjackets were neck-and-neck for a majority of set 1, with both teams trading rallies and unable to separate from one another. The Cougars were finally the team to make that leap with a late run to seal the 25-20 set one win.

In the early goings of set 2, the Cougars and Yellowjackets again traded blows, but it did not take long for the Cougars to capitalize and start gaining a larger and larger lead, getting to a 22-16 that forced a late timeout by the Yellowjackets. The attempt to ice the Cougars' momentum was for naught, with the Cougars taking three of the last four rallies for the 2-0 match lead.

The Cougars came out hot for set 3, scoring the first six points of the set. It was not until an error by the Cougars that the Yellowjackets were yielded a point. The Cougars would continue to build on this lead, getting ahead of the Yellowjackets 10-3. The Yellowjackets did not go away though, going on their own 5-2 run to get it to a four-point game. The Cougars answered back with three straight rallies to force a timeout, then scored three more times after the timeout for a sizeable 18-8 lead. Though the Yellowjackets made some noise at the end, the lead was too much for them to overcome, with the Cougars taking the 25-15 set win and the 3-0 match victory.