VERMILLION, S.D. — The South Dakota volleyball team opens the 2016 season with a brand new arena, and the Coyotes are looking to carry their success from the Coyote Den into the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
Leanne Williamson begins her third year at the helm of the program as the team looks to get back to the Summit League Tournament for the fourth straight year. She returns eight letterwinners from last season's team that made it to the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament.
"This preseason has been competitive within the team," said Williamson. "This is probably the most depth that we have had which provides us with some tough practices because everyone is challenging each other to get better."
South Dakota's top returners include senior outside hitter Audrey Reeg and junior setter Brittany Jessen, both of whom were named to the 2015 All-Summit League Team.
Reeg led the Coyotes and ranked fourth in the Summit with 426 kills. She added 357 digs and recorded 18 double-doubles. Reeg was also named to the Summit League All-Tournament Team.
Jessen was named the Summit League Setter of the Year in 2015 after she tallied 1,260 kills, 10.77 per set. She added 147 kills, 35 service aces, 288 digs and 41 total blocks. She recorded her second career triple-double in the Summit League Tournament last year during a five-set win over North Dakota State in the quarterfinals. Jessen ranks 25th in the nation on the NCAA active career leaders list with 10.75 assists per set.
More key returners are senior middle blocker Lindsey Brown, who was second on the team in hitting percentage a year ago with a .311 clip. Sophomore outside hitter Hayley Dotseth and sophomore defensive specialist Lauren Mattison were both named to the 2015 Summit League All-Freshman Team. Dotseth tallied 245 kills and Mattison had 434 digs.
The Coyotes welcome four newcomers who look to step in and contribute right away. The team added two transfers in redshirt-junior Meagan Kerns, an outside hitter/middle blocker, and junior Raquel West, a setter/defensive specialist.
Two freshmen join the team in Kiley Hixson and Elizabeth Loschen. Hixson is a 5-foot-11-inch outside hitter from Aurora, Neb., and holds the Aurora High School single-season records for kills (453) and digs (472) from her 2014 season. Loschen is a 6-foot-1-inch outside hitter from Omaha, Neb., and helped lead Marian High School to two Nebraska state titles.
"Our freshmen came in ready to challenge right away, which has provided another level of volleyball that we are able to play early on," said Williamson.
South Dakota opens the season Friday as the team travels to Tulsa, Okla., and plays Alabama and Incarnate Word on Friday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. The Coyotes wrap up the tournament against Tulsa Saturday at 1 p.m. This is the first ever matchup South Dakota will have with Alabama and Incarnate Word. Tulsa and USD competed back in 2010.
You can watch the live stats for all three games by using the link, http://www.sidearmstats.com/tulsa/wvball/.
The opponents
Alabama (17-15, 11-7 SEC) – Friday at 10 a.m.
The Crimson Tide was picked to finish sixth out of 13 teams in the SEC. They are led by senior Krystal Rivers, who was named to the preseason All-SEC team for the third consecutive year. Last year, Rivers led Alabama in kills (410) and hitting percentage (.300). She was second in the conference in kills per set with 4.06.
Incarnate Word (8-17, 6-10 Southland Conference) – Friday at 5 p.m.
The Cardinals were picked to finish 11th in the Southland preseason coaches' poll. Sophomore outside hitter Autumn Lockley was named to the Southland Conference preseason first team. She was the 2015 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors as she tallied 306 kills with an attack percentage of .231.
Tulsa (15-17, 10-10 American Athletic Conference) – Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Golden Hurricane was picked to finish eighth in the AAC preseason coaches' poll. Senior outside hitter Erica Bohannon was named to the AAC Preseason Team. In 2015, Bohannon ranked in the top-20 nationally in attacks, kills and points.
