SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- With 17 kills from Averey Yaksich, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team took a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-18, 25-16) over Minnesota State Mankato on Saturday afternoon in the Stewart Center. The victory was USF's sixth in eighth NSIC matches as the Cougars improved to 13-8 overall and 8-5 in NSIC play.

USF Head Coach Dan Mathews was pleased to see his team's hard work pay off in the sweep victory. 

"Our offense was really good today. We ran great tempo to our outside hitters, and we're hard to stop when we do that successfully," said Mathews, who team travels down the block to take on city rival Augustana next Saturday. "Averey Yaksich and Jordan Kuper were particularly good this afternoon. Together, they scored 31 of our 52 total kills."

Mathews is looking ahead to a tough week, but is excited to see his team take on the challenge.

"This is a big week for us, as we play SMSU on Thursday and Augustana on Saturday," said Mathews, who is in his first year in the lead for the Cougars. "These great teams will require us to be at our best, and I'm really excited to rise to that challenge."

Set one saw 19 kills from the Cougars, with 57 attempts and five errors for a .246 hitting percentage. USF tallied one service ace, three blocks, and three ball handling errors in the 25-22 first set win.

The second set had USF taking a 25-18 win over the Mavericks, with 18 kills on 35 attempts. A .400 hitting percentage, four blocks, and just one ball handling error helped lead the Cougars to the second set victory.

The third and final set was a 25-16 win for the Cougars, who hit .278 percent to wrap up the match. 15 kills on 26 attempts and no ball handling errors helped the Cougars to the overall victory. 

Individually, the Cougars were led by senior outside hitter Averey Yaksich, who had 17 kills on the night and hit .324 percent. Freshman middle blocker Jordan Kuper also put down 14 kills (.458 percent) for the Cougars and Brookelynn Albrecht had eight kills. Senior setter Krista Goerger had 45 assists, 17 digs, and one service ace on the night. 

Next weekend, the Cougars take on their travel partners with a split weekend. USF will host #14 Southwest Minnesota State on Thursday, October 28 at 6 pm in the Stewart Center. On Saturday, the Cougars head down the road to take on city rival Augustana at 5 pm in the Elmen Center.