OMAHA, Neb. – Spring is in the air and the thrill of the NCAA National Volleyball Tournament is upon us. Two things that are not common for Division I athletics.
 
This has been anything but common for the volleyball teams across the nation with the fall season for most postponed until the spring. Those that did play in the fall, many didn't get a full season.
 
Yet here we are in the middle of April and 48 teams are converging on Omaha, Nebraska, for 10 days to decide a national champion of a fall sport in the spring.
 
South Dakota, making its second NCAA DI appearance in the last three seasons, is coming off an exciting Summit League Tournament title victory over Denver, a five-set match that saw a reverse sweep to decide the winner.
 
"I would say that we feel blessed," coach Leanne Williamson said. "Volleyball is something that these ladies have a passion for, so for them to have the opportunity to play our entire season and now continue into the (NCAA) tournament is something that we are not taking for granted.
 
"This team is very close and support each other greatly. Personally, I am excited to have the opportunity to continue to watch these ladies compete!"
 
The Coyotes, 15-6 overall on the season and 12-3 in the Summit League, open their national tournament bid against 25^th-ranked Missouri (15-7) on Wednesday with an 11 a.m. first serve inside the CHI Center.
 
This is just the second all-time meeting between South Dakota and Missouri with the other coming back in 2013 in Columbia, a 3-0 sweep for the Tigers. This is the fifth time South Dakota will be facing a team from the Southeastern Conference.
 
Nine of the Coyotes' 21 matches this season went all five sets and twice the squad rallied from down 0-2 to win, including a road match at then-No. 14 Creighton, the program's first win over a top-25 team in the Division I era.
 
"Getting to the big dance is a goal of ours every season, so we are excited to be here again for the second time in three years," said Williamson. "It really just goes to show the progress of our program and how the players have put in the work to consistently give themselves the opportunity to earn the chance to get here. They have been so dedicated to the process. We couldn't ask for a better group to work with daily. 


 
SUMMIT LEAGUE
 
South Dakota finished third in the regular season standings before winning a pair of five-set matches to claim the tournament title. The semifinal win over Kansas City avenged a pair of five-set losses to the Roos in the regular season.
 
The title match against Denver saw each team with multiple match points in the fifth set after South Dakota initially thought they had won only to see a point reversed after a Denver challenge.
 
The championship mirrored the one from 2018 when the Coyotes won sets four and five against Denver on the Pioneers' home floor to secure their first-ever NCAA DI tournament appearance.
 
"The Summit League Tournament showed just how far this team progressed throughout the season," Williamson said. "This team learned how to battle until the very end, and that is ultimately why we were able to win both of those matches in the tournament. 
 
"It was not always easy, and we were down in many instances. However, they were fearless in some of the biggest moments and they trusted each other that we could find a way. I am very proud of how they worked together to achieve something that we have been working towards since the first day of preseason."
 
Finding a away, and battling until the very end with be another theme for the Coyotes against the Tigers, who finished third in the Southeastern Conference and is making their 17^th NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000 and sixth straight.
 
Elizabeth Juhnke, one of three Coyotes named to the All-Summit League first team, leads the team and Summit League in kills (337), kills per set (4.21), total points (381), points per set (4.76) and total attacks (932). The six-foot sophomore ranks 11^th nationally in total kills and total points.
 
Sami Slaughter and Madison Harms joined Juhnke on the All-Summit League first team while junior setter Madison Jurgens was an honorable mention selection.
 
Slaughter, a senior, ranks second on the team in kills with 2.36 and eighth in the Summit League in kills per set (3.61). She is also averaging 0.87 blocks per set and is one of three Coyotes in the Summit League top 10 in blocks per set.
 
Harms, a sophomore, leads the Summit League and ranks sixth nationally in total blocks with 108 while she also adds 137 kills and a .288 hitting percentage to the offensive attack.
 
Maddie Wiedenfeld (149 kills) and Aimee Adams (141 kills) add to the offense that produces 12.75 kills per set and a .237 team hitting percentage.
 
Directing the offense is Jurgens, in her third season as a starter, who averages 10.07 assists per set while leading the team in service aces with 28.
 
Defensively, the Coyotes rank sixth nationally in total blocks (217), 25^th nationally in blocks per set (2.58) and 30^th nationally in opponent hitting percentage (0.148).
 
Lolo Weideman, a junior in her first season as the libero, leads the way with 379 digs while Juhnke has 269 and Jurgens 245.


 
SCOUTING MISSOURI
 
The Southeastern Conference played a partial fall schedule in 2020 and Missouri went 6-2 in that first month, dropping a pair of matches to then-No. 3 ranked Kentucky.
 
The Tigers picked back up in late January and won a pair of five-set matches at home against LSU. They dropped two the next week at Tennessee. Missouri's only other losses since then were two at then-No. 7 Florida and a split in South Carolina.
 
Missouri, though, has not played since sweeping Mississippi State on Mach 25, a span of 19 days, leading into the national tournament.
 
Kylie Deberg, a 6-foot-4 senior, leads the Tigers with 400 kills offensively, a total that ranks third nationally. The three-time All-SEC selection averages 4.71 kills per set, seventh best nationally and 5.51 points per set, fifth best in the nation. She is also a force from the service line with 40 aces, third most nationally.
 
Deberg was joined on the All-SEC Team by setter Andrea Fuentes and sophomore Anna Dixon.
 
Fuentes, a 5-9 redshirt junior, set the Tigers to the third-best hitting percentage in the SEC and 23^rd-best in the NCAA at .266. She averages 10.15 assists per set for a team that averages 13.19 kills per set.
 
Dixon, a 6-3 outside hitter and transfer from Kansas State, was second on the team in kills with 254. She ranked 11^th in the SEC in total kills and points.
 
Defensively, the Tigers are led by 5-6 freshman Emily Brown with 286 digs while 6-3 junior Anna D'Cruz (0.80) and 6-2 sophomore Claudia Dillon (0.78) lead the way in blocking.
 
"Missouri is a good team, and will challenge us in many ways," said Williamson. "They are a very offensive team with some very good attackers. They will be different than most of the teams that we have seen this year in terms of their length across the net. They score at a high rate, so that will be a great challenge for our defense. 
 
"Defensively, their length allows them to put up a very good block. They will take away a lot of court with their block, so serve receive and defense will be important for us to give ourselves the best chance to be more deceptive. Overall, Missouri will challenge us on both ends of the court, but our team is prepared and excited for this next challenge."
 
Wednesday's winner will face ninth-seeded Ohio State at 11 a.m. on Thursday.