FIRST SERVE
The South Dakota Coyotes (15-8, 12-2) return to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center to face Denver (21-3, 12-2) in a crucial Summit League contest Thursday at 6 p.m.

THE COYOTES
South Dakota sits tied with Denver for second place in the Summit League, one game behind Omaha, with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Elizabeth Juhnke, who has reached double figures in kills in all but one match, leads the offensive attack at 3.76 kills per set. The junior averages 4.06 kills per set in league play while her 219 total kills in league play are most in the Summit.
Senior Sami Slaughter averages 2.56 kills per set while junior Madison Harms contributes 2.53 kills per set for a team that is averaging 13.08 kills per set while posting a .253 attack percentage in all matches.
Aimee Adams, a junior, adds 1.99 kills per set and senior Maddie Wiedenfeld 1.69 for an offense directed by senior setter Madison Jurgens who is at 10.32 assists per set. 
South Dakota ranks second in the Summit League in blocks per set (2.36) as Harms, who leads the Summit League in solo blocks with 21, is second in the Summit at 1.29 blocks per set. 
Harms also ranks second in the Summit League in hitting percentage at .402 while Wiedenfeld is sixth in the league at .323. 
Defensively, senior libero Lolo Weideman ranks second in the Summit League, averaging 4.59 digs per set while Juhnke is at 2.89 and Jurgens 2.01. 

LAST TIME OUT
South Dakota defeated a scrappy St. Thomas squad in four sets on the road to up its win streak to five matches. 
The Coyotes hit .384 marking the fifth-straight match hitting over .300 as Juhnke had 17 kills, Slaughter 14 and Harms 12.
Jurgens contributed 47 assists and eight digs while Weideman had 16 digs.

HONORS
Juhnke was named offensively player of the week for the second consecutive week. 
Juhnke, honored as offensive player of the week for the sixth time in her career, had 36 kills and hit .386 in the Coyotes wins over Western Illinois and St. Thomas.

CAREER LISTS
Juhnke moved up to eighth on the career kills list with 1,197. Next on the list is Audrey Reeg (2013-16) with 1,266.
Jurgens sits third on the career assists list with 4,380, a total that ranks seventh in Summit League history. 
Jurgens sits fourth on the service aces list with 144 and is only four away from Liz Lough (1992-95) in third.
Weideman is in 11th on the career digs list with 1,255, just four away from Hayley Dotseth in 10th at 1,259.
Harms currently has 295 block assists in her career, putting her five away from the 300 mark, where only three other Coyotes currently sit. 

DENVER 
Denver has swept three straight opponenets since suffering the second of two losses to Omaha this season on Oct. 30. The Pioneers have posted nine sweeps out of their 12 league wins this season.
Lydia Bartalo is the sparkplug that makes Denver tick, leading the way with 2.88 kills per match while also leading the Summit League and ranking second nationally in service aces per set at 0.67. Her 54 total service aces rank third nationally for a graduate student that is also only 16 digs away from joining the 1,000 career kill-1,000 career dig club. 
The Pioneers lead the Summit League and rank 22nd nationally in attack percentage at .270 while also ranking eighth nationally in opponents hitting percentage at .141.
Denver has five individuals averaging two or more kills per set as Erica Andrich is at 2.58, followed by Tina Boe (2.25), Ari Winters (2.17) and Hailey Green (2.11). 
Boe leads the Summit League and ranks 16th nationally with her .416 hitting percentage.
Ellie Anderson and Lorrin Poulter opperate as the setters in the 6-2 offense as Anderson, who surpassed 2,500 career assists this season is averaging 5.91 assists per set and Poulter 4.63.
Gianna Bartalo paces the defense at 3.80 digs per set while Lydia Bartalo is at 2.37 and Anderson 2.05.
Brianna Green (1.08) and Boe (1.04) each average over a block per set as the Pioneers sit third in the Summit League at 2.30 blocks per set. 

LAST TIME OUT
Denver made quick work out of North Dakota State as Hailey Green had nine kills, Boe eight nad Brianna Green seven. 
Anderson had 18 assists and Poulter 12 while Gianna Bartalo had 15 digs and Anderson 10.

THE SERIES
The Coyotes saw their five-match win streak in the series stopped with a five-set loss on the road in Denver on Oct. 16. Denver leads the all-time series 13-8.

UP NEXT
The Coyotes will have Senior Day on Sunday as first-place Omaha (13-1 in Summit) visits for a 3 p.m. contest.