CROOKSTON, MINN. – With a double-double from Averey Yaksich and four players with seven or more kills, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team (6-3, 1-0 NSIC) opened the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule with a sweep of Minnesota Crookston (1-5, 0-1 NSIC), 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-12) on the road on Friday night (Sept. 17).

Yaksich had her third career double-double with eight in her career and moved into seventh on USF's career kills chart with 17 kills on 32 attacks and a .438 hitting mark.  Yaksich, who also had 10 digs, now has 654 kills in her career as she passed Kate Hart (648-, 2013-14). She is 53 kills away from sixth all-time (Michelle Ritland, 707, 2012-15). With her total tonight, Yaksich, who is sixth all-time in career attacks with 1,898, is hitting .267 on the season with 135 kills and a team-best 4.09 kills per set.

Senior setter Krista Goerger also continues to set the all-time assist mark as she had 38 against UMC and now has 2,779 set assists in her career.

"It was a real pleasure to see our team execute our offensive and defensive systems so well," said USF first-year Head Coach Dan Mathews. "Our attackers did a good job pushing fast tempo on the pins and Krista (Goerger) set them the balls they needed. Our middles also got much more involved in the second and third sets which has been a goal for us. I am pleased with the discipline we showed tonight and excited for the opportunity tomorrow in Bemidji, said Mathews, whose squad travels to face Bemidji State at 1 pm on Saturday in Bemidji, Minn.

To his point, Yaksich along with Nicole Jacobson and Brooklynne Albrecht all recorded .400 hitting percentages or better. Jacobson had seven kills on 15 attacks with just one error for a .400 mark while Albrecht had six kills on nine attacks for a team-high .667 mark. Additionally, middle blockers Jordan Kuper and Jordyn Hamm had seven kills each. Senior defensive specialist Marlee Schneider had four service aces for the second time this year and now has 13 on the season to rank second on the team.

As a team, USF hit .372 for the second best match mark of the season. USF had 47 kills on 94 attacks with 12 errors. The Cougars recorded 42 digs, eight service aces and eight total blocks, which was the second best total of the year.

Early in the first set, USF and UMC traded points with two Yaksich kills helping USF stay tied at 4-4. But Yaksich had two more kills and Jacobson also had one as the Cougars took an 8-5 lead. Then, Madison Wassink delivered a service ace followed by a kill fom Goerger for a 12-7 advantage. With a second kill by Hamm and the fifth by Yaksich, USF had a 6-1 run to grab an 18-12 advantage.  Then Yaksich, who hit .467 in the set with eight kills on 15 attacks, registered two kills in USF's final four points. Schneider closed the set with a service ace. USF hit .375 as a team in the opening set with 15 kills on 32 attacks and three errors. USF had two service aces and three blocks.

In the second set, Yaksich had a pair of kills as the Cougars rushed out to a 9-2 advantage. With a pair of kills from Hamm and one from Albrecht, the Cougars took a 14-9 advantage midway through the second set. Later in the set, USF had a service ace by Schneider – her third of the match – for a 19-11 advantage.  USF continued to apply the pressure and closed on a 6-2 run for a 25-13 win. In the set, USF hit .556 with 17 kills on 27 attacks.  UMC hit just .111 and had seven kills on 27 attacks. USF also had four service aces in the set.

In the third set, USF jumped to a 3-0 lead and led 5-3 after UMC mounted a charge. With Albrecht's sixth kill of the match, USF took an 8-6 lead over UM Crookston in the third set. Later Kuper has three kills to lead the Cougars to a 14-7 advantage. Then, USF, which had 15 kills on 35 attacks with seven errors for a .229 hitting mark, closed on an 11-5 run to win the set and seal the match.