SIOUX FALLS – In reflection, 2021 was certainly year to remember for the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team, which fell just short of qualifying for the NSIC Postseason Tournament.

USF finished 17-11 overall and 12-8 in the NSIC, which was just a game away from the postseason. In the midst of that result was three wins over top-25 teams, three All-NSIC performers (Averey Yaksich, Krista Goerger, Jordan Kuper) for the second time in school history, the program's second-ever All-American and the momentum for a promising future.

USF set 11 season and career records (two team, nine individual) along with 27 top-five (17 individual, 10 team) and 49 top-10 (17 team, 32 individual) marks.

"In terms of competitive performance, we had a great overall record. We are proud of the top—15 wins and the postseason recognition," said USF first-year Head Coach Dan Mathews. "The real achievement, however, is the way our team came together and played hard for each other. I thought this group made huge strides in becoming selfless and supportive," he said.

After CoVID-19 wiped out the 2020 season, the Cougars squad faced transition to a new coaching staff and did so by working hard in the spring to be ready for the fall 2021 season.

The Cougars opened the season by going 5-3 in the nonconference season and finished with a 12-8 league mark for ninth in the league and just one win from fifth as four NSIC teams were tied for fifth at 13-7. USF defeated No. 12 Winona State, 3-0, Oct. 16, 2021; No. 13 Southwest Minnesota State, 3-1, Oct. 28; and No. 13 Wayne State, 3-0, Nov. 2. USF, which had a 7-3 home mark, had 12, 3-0 wins and 5, 3-0 setbacks with a 1-3 record in five-set matches with four match wins by a 3-1 count and three losses by a 3-1 decision.

In terms of team numbers, USF led the NSIC and ranked fifth in DII in hitting at .272 which included 1,335 kills on 3,293 attacks. With 1,248 assists or 12.61 per set USF was fourth in the NSIC and 29^th in DII. The Cougars finished sixth in the NSIC and 37^th in DII with 13.48 kills/set. Also, USF was second in the NSIC and 15^th in DII in blocks at 2.40/set while ranking third with 62 solo blocks.

USF was led by a group of seniors, which include outside hitter Averey Yaksich, who joined Bria Barfnecht, a right side hitter in 2018, as the only USF players to earn the AVCA All-American recognition. The other seniors, who provided important upper class leadership, were Kenzie Byers, Krista Goerger, TiaRose Nagami and Marlee Schneider.

"We will miss the senior class a lot. TiaRose Nagami (ranked 9^th all-time at USF with 314 digs 9^th with 3.24 digs per set in a season - 2021; and eighth in career digs with 462) owned the libero position. Her positive attitude every day was a valuable contribution. Krista Goerger ran the fastest offense in the NSIC and her ability to learn and change is a testament to her competitive drive. Kenzie Byers was vital in many of our early season wins and many other ways. Marlee Schneider contributed in many ways including her service game. She did whatever was asked of her and always kept things light. Averey Yaksich is irreplaceable. Her offensive performance this season was outstanding. But most important, she was selfless who cared greatly about her teammates," he said.
 
Yaksich was among the 42 players—14 on the first, second, and third teams—from 29 schools in NCAA DII named to the AVCA All-American teams.  A senior from Omaha, Neb., Yaksich was named to the third team after completing one of the best seasons by a volleyball player at USF. In 2021, Yaksich set six game and season marks at USF with 19 total game, season and career top-10 marks. Yaksich, a psychology major who was named Academic All-NSIC twice, also earned D2CCA Second Team All-Region and First Team All-NSIC honors. She is a two-time All-NSIC performer (2^nd team, 2018).

In the best year by an outside hitter in school history, Yaksich ranked first in the NSIC in total kills with 442, which was 10^th in DII. She was sixth in DII and first in the league with a school record 4.46 kills/set and ranked first in the NSIC and fourth in DII in points per set at 5.09 with a NSIC-best 503.5 points. She set school records for points in a season (503.5), points/set (5.09), kills/season (442), kills/set (4.46) with a game record 30 kills (five sets) and 32 points against Grand Valley State in a five-set win to open a season. In addition, she led USF to a sweep of nationally-ranked Wayne State with a school record 22 kills in a three-set match. She finished sixth in career kills at USF with 950 and second with 3.1 kills per set. In addition, she was third in attacks with 2,617 in her career with the sixth most digs at 655 and sixth with 1,107 career points. She was also ninth in blocks with 140 and a .231 attack percentage in her time at USF. 

Senior Krista Goerger, who became USF's first-ever first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American earlier in 2021 and was the program's first-ever four-time Academic All-NSIC honoree as well as NSIC Elite 18 Award recipient, finished as the career leader with 3,452 set assists and 126 service aces. A second-team All-NSIC honoree this year, she was also second all-time at USF with 9.5 assists per set and fourth with 0.3 service aces per set while ranking sixth in digs with 665, eighth in sets played with 363 and matches played with 106. In earning second team All-NSIC honors, Goerger was fourth in the in the NSIC and 25^th in DII with 10.67 assists per set with 1,056, which ranks third all-time at USF.

Freshman middle blocker Jordan Kuper was second team All-NSIC as well after leading USF in hitting with .343 mark, which was fourth in the NSIC and 50^th in DII. In addition, she was third in the NSIC and 20^th in DII with 121 blocks. She set a school record with 1.22 blocks per set.
  In 2021, USF had three performances that ranked top-12 in DII. Yaksich's 22 kills against nationally-ranked Wayne State (USF win) was tied for fifth in DII for a three-set match and her 30 kills in a five-set win over Grand Valley State in the season opener ranked seventh in DII. Also senior Kenzie Byers ranked 12^th in hitting percentage (14 kills, 21 attacks) for a match at .667 (at least 20 attacks) in a four-set win over Colorado Christian. Byers, who ranks sixth all-time at USF with a .282 attack percentage (302 kills on 685 attacks) finished her career with 360 points in 57 matches.

"One of the things that set us apart from the rest of the NSIC this season was our offensive efficiency.  Our team embraced a much faster tempo, and it led to some incredible performances throughout the season by Averey Yaksich," said Mathews. "Our ability to put service pressure on our opponents was crucial in several of our upset wins.  Krista Goerger, USF's all-time leader in aces, was especially valuable from the end line.  We also scored consistently behind the serving of Marlee Schneider. In addition, we had one of the most disciplined block schemes in our conference. This allowed our pin blockers to help tremendously against the opposing middles, and led to some outstanding performances from Jordyn Hamm and Jordan Kuper. It's no secret that the hardest skills in volleyball are passing and defense.  Like most teams, this phase of the game is where we have the most work to do.  We're excited to put a ton of attention on these skills during the spring," he said.

Mathews noted that his squad was a high achieving team before he took over and recorded a fifth straight winning season.

"The players were used to hard work and had high expectations for themselves and the program.  However, I did ask them to change several things about the way they played the game, and we made huge progress in attending to those changes.  In that respect, I couldn't be happier with the progress we've made over the past year," added Mathews, noting the USF will start preparing for the 2022 season on February 1.   

"We're optimistic about the road ahead.  We lost some great players this year, but in 2022 and 2023 we will gain some hungry athletes with amazing personalities who are excellent volleyball players.  It's such an honor to be a part of that future," Mathews said.

Breakdown
Season Program Records/Top10 Marks –
Team – sets, 99, 7^th; matches, 28, 7^th; points, 1,758, 6^th; points/set, 17.75,1^st; total blocks, 238.0, 4^th; blocks/set, 2^nd, 2.40 (2.41, 2015); digs/set, 13.40, 4^th; block solos, 62, 2^nd; block assists, 352, 6^th; assists, 1,248, 6^th; assists/set, 12.61, second (1,281, 2018); service aces, 185, 4^th; service aces/set, 1.87, 1^st; kills, 1,335, 6^th; kills/set, 13.48, 2^nd; attacks, 3,293, 9^th; hitting percentage, .272, 2^nd (.274, 2018).

Season Individual – blocks per set, 1.22, 1^st, Jordan Kuper; block assists, 102, 5^th, Jordan Kuper; block solos, 19, tied for 3^rd, Jordan Kuper; solo blocks, 17, 6th, Jordyn Hamm; kills, 442, 1^st, Averey Yaksich; kills/set, 4.46, 1^st, Averey Yaksich; attacks, 1,082, 2^nd, Averey Yaksich; hitting percentage (505 attacks), .343, Jordan Kuper; assists, 1,056, 3^rd, Krista Goerger; assists/set, 10.67, 1^st, Krista Goerger; service aces, 36, 9^th, Krista Goerger; service aces/set, 0.52, 1^st, 33, Madison Wassink; services aces/set, 0.36, 6^th, Krista Goerger; digs, 314, 9^th, TiaRose Nagami; digs/set, 3.24, 9^th, TiaRose Nagami.