GOLDEN, COLO – As the season unfolded this weekend, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team was anxious and ready to go. With team-focused goals on their minds, the Cougars jumped to a quick start in the 2021 season after going 3-1 in four matches at the Oredigger Classic, hosted by Colorado Mines, in Golden, Colo.

USF had a 2-0 day on Saturday which followed the 1-1 mark on opening day. USF took a 3-0 decision (25-18, 25-20, 25-16) over Midwestern State and then rallied from a set down to take a 3-1 win over Colorado Christian (22-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-17).

"We knew that coming to this tournament would expose our team to some really high-level volleyball.  What we didn't know was how well we'd respond to the challenge," said USF first-year Head Coach Dan Mathews, who team will now travel to the Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg, Kan for four matches Sept. 10-11. "I'm very pleased to say that we responded with enthusiasm towards competition, discipline within our system and supportiveness towards one another.  Fortunately, this was reflected in two great back-to-back wins today and a 3-1 record overall," said Mathews.

Leading a strong team effort was senior outside hitter Averey Yaksich, who was named to the Oredigger Classic All Tourney-Team. A 2018 All-NSIC selection, Yaksich of Omaha, Neb., totaled 69 kills on 161 attacks for a .267 hitting mark through four matches. She averaged a team-best 4.6 kills and had four services aces with a team-best 78 points. In the opening match of the tourney, she helped USF to a 3-2 win over Grand Valley State with a career-best and program DII mark of 30 kills. She now has 588 career kills, which ranks ninth all-time at USF and just four from Abby Feyereisen (2015-19) at 592.

As a team, USF outhit, opponents .254 to 217 and had 185 kills to 175 for opponents. In addition, USF had a 182-162 set assist advantage and a margin of 26-to-23 in service aces. Leading that effort was senior setter Krista Goerger, the career all-time set assist leader at USF. She had 152 this weekend and now has 2,549 in her career. Middle blockers and freshmen Jordyn Hamm and Jordan Kuper each had 13 blocks. Redshirt sophomore Nicole Jacobson had 34 kills (second on the team) with a team-best 10 service aces. Kuper had 33 kills, senior middle blocker Kenzie Byers added 27 and a team-best hitting mark of .377. USF finished with 174 digs (11.6 per match) with senior defensive specialist TiaRose Nagami supplying a team-high 55 or 3.67 per set.

In post-match comments today, Mathews talked about how his team stayed focused on what they could control and that meant max effort and being prepared.

"I always tell our players that winning really is a peripheral concern.  Our priority is always just staying present to the moment of competition and playing outstanding volleyball," said Mathews. "We accomplished that for much of this tournament - when we do that, winning just happens.  I'm happy that our players got to experience that success."

Yaksich has 16 kills as USF rolls past Midwestern State
In the opening match on Saturday, Yaksich led USF to a 3-0 win (25-18, 25-20, 25-16) over Midwestern State with 16 kills on 26 attacks for a .423 hitting mark. She had three block assists and three digs.

USF cruised to the win by outhitting MWSU by a .368 (42 kills, 14 errors on 76 attacks) to a .013 mark (24 kills on 78 attacks with 23 errors).

Aside from Yaksich, USF had contributions all around. Byers had a solid match with nine kills on 13 attacks for a .538 hitting mark and Jacobson added eight kills and a .538 hitting mark while recording three service aces and three digs. In addition, Jordan Kuper had six kills and four block assists of the 16 recorded by USF. Goerger had 37 assists, two block assists and two digs.

In the opening set, USF had a .417 hitting mark with 13 kills on 24 attacks with three errors The Cougars had a 5-1 run to take a 12-7 lead and then later a 4-0 run for a 19-11 mark. Byers had four kills in the opening set to lead USF to the 25-18 win.

In the second set, the Cougars hit a match-high .435 with 14 kills on 23 attacks (four errors) as Yaksich had six kills. USF trailed, 10-8, before going on a 7-2 run for a 16-12 advantage as Yaksich had four consecutive kills during that run.

In the final set, USF broke from a 10-7 lead with a 5-0 run for a 15-7 advantage as Kuper had a pair of kills. Then, at 17-12, USF had a 6-0 run for a 23-12 lead as Jacobson had two of her service aces and a kill.

Cougars record 13 aces as they rally past CCU, 3-1
In the second match against Colorado Christian, USF lost the opening set, 25-22 but then gained controlled and won the next three sets, 25-19, 25-15 and 25-17 to earn its third win of the weekend. In the match, which included 15 tie scores and six lead changes, USF used its .317 hitting mark, 14 blocks and the 13 aces to take control.

In the victory, USF recorded its second most aces in the DII era with 13. Jacobsen, who 11 kills and nine digs, had two service aces. Senior Marlee Schneider had a career-high four while Goerger, who had 45 set assists, had three aces, three block assists and added 12 digs. Byers hit .667 with 14 kills on 21 attacks without an error and added two block assists. She had her seventh career double-digit kills match with the second most in her career (16, MSU Moorhead, 11-8-2019). Yaksich capped off her tournament with 14 kills on 33 attacks and added two service aces and 10 digs as she had a double-double, which was the ninth of her career. She now has 28 career matches with double-digit kills. Also both Kuper and Hamm had eight kills with Hamm setting her career-mark.

In the opening set Cougars dropped a 25-22 decision. USF outhit CCU, .345-to-278 and had a 15-13 edge in kills but fell as CCU recorded four service aces The Cougars led, 7-1, early but CCU took off on a 14-5 run to take a three-point range at 15-12. With the set tied at 22, CCU scored the final three points for the opening set victory.   

In the second set, USF moved out to a 7-3 advantage but CCU again mounted a comeback with an 9-3 run for a 12-10 lead before Hamm recorded a kill to stop the run. USF took a 16-15 lead by scoring three straight. Then, USF received a pair of kills by Yaksich and one from Byers for a 6-3 run and 22-17 lead. Byers had three more kills, including the set-deciding point, as the Cougars tied the match 1-1 with a 25-19 win.

CCU jumped to the early 6-2 lead in the third set before the Cougars had a 16-6 run for an 18-12 advantage. From that point, USF, which hit .375 with 10 kills on 24 attacks and four hitting errors, had a 7-3 run to take the 25-15 decision.

In the fourth set, USF jumped to 13-10 lead after Yaksich recorded her 13^th kill of the match. But CCU couldn't counter as USF, utilizing Goerger's .489 set percentage, hit 281 with 14 kills on 32 attacks and had side outs on 13-of-17 points. As a result, USF closed with a 25-17 decision.