WINONA, MINN. -- With a balanced attack and a strong service game, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team took down the No. 8 Winona State Warriors in a 3-0 sweep (26-24, 25-20, 27-25) in Winona, Minn. on Saturday afternoon. 

It was USF's first win over a top-10 ranked opponent since knocking off No. 8 Concordia St. Paul on Nov. 6, 2018 at the NSIC Tournament. USF also had defeated CSP when it was ranked No. 1 on Oct. 27, 2018 at the Stewart Center in a 3-0 sweep.

Today, the Cougars were led by senior Averey Yaksich with her 17th career double-double of 11 kills and 15 digs. She also surpassed 300 kills on the season (303) and has 811 in her career. With 303 kills this season, she ranks 10th on USF's career season chart.

Aside from Yaksich, USF had nine kills from Brooklynne Albrecht who hit a team-best .444 and eight kills from Nicole Jacobson. As a team, USF hit .260 with 41 kills. They also had 61 digs and 11 total blocks to go with five service aces. Jordan Kuper added six kills with three block assists. Krista Goerger had 33 assists for the Cougars and TiaRose Nagami supplied 16 digs. 

USF Head Coach Dan Mathews was happy to see his team bounce back after a tough loss on Friday against Upper Iowa. 

"Obviously we're thrilled to beat a well-coached, top-10 team," said Mathews. "There were three reasons that we were able to win against Winona State tonight: we served really tough, our blocking was exceedingly disciplined, and our offense was very balanced. It was fun to see the things we've been working on in practice show up in this match."

Mathews is looking forward to watching his team improve even further throughout the rest of the season. 

"This weekend was an excellent opportunity to see where we need improvement, and what we're capable of when we play our best. It will be rewarding to be tested again next weekend by another pair of great teams," said Matthews

Despite the 3-0 outcome, the Cougars had to battle the Warriors throughout all three sets of the night. The first set saw USF take a 26-24 win with a .341 hitting percentage, putting down 17 kills on 41 attempts with just three attack errors. The Cougars also had one service ace, three blocks, and no ball handling errors. 

The second set had the Cougars taking a 25-20 win to take a 2-0 advantage on the match. With 13 kills on 37 attempts, USF hit .270 percent and had just three attack errors. The Cougars also put down two blocks and three service errors. 

In the third and final set, USF rallied down late (24-22) to take a hard-fought 27-25 win over the Warriors to seal their 3-0 win. With the Warriors up 24-22, Yaksich had a pair of kills as she had her 40th career game with double digit kills. After the Warriors to a 25-24 lead, USF scored the final three points to earn the top-10 win. In the final set, the Cougars hit .178 percent, with 11 kills on 45 attempts. On the net, USF put up six blocks, and from the service line they had one service ace. 

The Cougars return home next weekend to host #7 Concordia St. Paul on Friday, Oct. 22 (6 pm) and Minnesota State Mankato on Saturday, Oct. 23 (4 pm) in the Stewart Center.