FIRST SERVE
The South Dakota Coyotes open the 2021 season with a three-game swing in Colorado, facing Northwestern, Colorado State and Northern Colorado. Friday's matches are at Noon against Northwestern in Greeley, Colorado and 8 p.m. at Colorado State. Saturday's match begins at 7 p.m. at Northern Colorado. 

THE COYOTES
South Dakota returns 14 letterwinners and all seven starters from its abbreviated 2020 season that was played in the spring due to COVID-19. A 15-7 final record included a third-place finish in the Summit League before winning the Summit League tournament title and berth in the NCAA Tournament. Elizabeth Juhnke, Madison Harms and Sami Slaughter were all named Summit League First Team selections. Juhnke, a AVCA All-American Honorable Mention choice, led the Summit League in kills with 346 and kills per set at 4.17 while also contributing 274 digs, 52 total blocks and 14 service aces. Harms led the Summit League in blocks per set (1.31) and total blocks (110), while adding 139 kills to an offense that produced 12.63 kills per set. Slaughter ranked eighth in the Summit League in kills per set (2.82). Maddie Wiedenfeld (153 kills) and Aimee Adams (144 kills) are two more offensive threats for setter Madison Jurgens (867 assists). Lolo Weideman returns at libero where her 4.40 digs per set were fifth-best in the Summit League. 

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS
Northwestern managed to play just 10 matches during the 2020-21 season, posting a 4-6 record. The Wildcats will be paced offensively by attackers Temi Thomas-Ailara and Abryanna Cannon. Both started all 10 matches and played in all 40 sets a season ago. Thomas-Ailara had 154 kills for 3.85 per set while Cannon contributed 97 kills for 2.43 per set. Both setters also return as Alex Rousseau had 260 assists (7.22 per set) and Kiara McNulty had 119 (6.61 per set). Megan Miller, the team's libero, is also back after posting a team-high 118 digs along with 11 service aces. Cannon had 16 kills and McNulty 49 assists in the previous meeting between Northwestern and South Dakota in the 2018 season opener in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Shane Davis begins his sixth season as head coach after spending 12 season as the men's volleyball coach at Loyola University.

COLORADO STATE
Colorado State returns 13 of the 14 players, all but the team's leading hitter, that played during the 2020-21 season that saw them post a 9-6 record playing only Mountain West league opponents. Four individuals that produced over 100 kills return for head coach Tom Hilbert, in his 25th season. Jacqi Van Liefde (126), Kennedy Stanford (109), Sasha Colombo (106) and Karina Leber (106) return for an offense directed by All-Mountain West performer Ciera Pritchard, who led the league with 485 assists (9.70 per set). Defensively, libero Alexa Roumeliotis led the Mountain West at 4.96 digs per set (273 total). The Rams finished third in the Mountain West in the spring season. This is the first-ever meeting between South Dakota and Colorado State. 

NORTHERN COLORADO
Northern Colorado returns 11 letterwinners and five starters, losing two of its top three hitters, from a 15-4 season that produced a fourth-place finish in the Big Sky before falling in the Big Sky tournament championship match. Three of the Bears four losses were to Weber State, the Big Sky regular season and tourney champs. Rachel Hickman (203 kills) and Kailey Jo Ince (157 kills) will led an offense directed by fifth-year starting setter Daisy Schultz, who has recorded over 4,000 career assists. Laura Katarzynski (32 aces) and Kyndall Feather (30 aces) helped the Bears rank sixth nationally at 2.01 aces per set. Feather, the libero, averaged 4.20 digs per set while Katarzynski averages 2.37 digs per set. Lyndsey Oates begins her 17th season as head coach. This is the fifth career meeting between the Bears and Coyotes.

UP NEXT
The Coyotes will travel to Louisville, Kentucky for week two of the season over Labor Day weekend where matches against Northern Kentucky, Louisville and Missouri await.