FIRST SERVE
The South Dakota Coyotes (3-3) travel to Wichita, Kansas for the Shocker Volleyball Classic on Friday and Saturday. South Dakota opens against host Wichita State on Friday evening at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Coyotes face 17th-ranked Creighton at Noon and Wyoming at 4:30 p.m.

THE COYOTES
South Dakota went 3-0 to win the South Dakota Classic inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Three game sweeps over Bradley and Central Arkansas preceded a five-set win over Milwaukee. Madison Harms, named South Dakota Classic MVP, returned to the lineup after missing the opening weekend and provided 33 kills, hit .464 and had 17 total blocks or 1.55 blocks per set. The junior leads the Summit League in hitting percentage and blocks per set. Elizabeth Juhnke and Sami Slaughter joined Harms on the all-tournament team. Juhnke averages 3.50 kills/set to go with 2.86 digs per set. Slaughter averages 2.68 kills/set and 0.68 blocks/set. Madison Jurgens provides 9.50 assists/set while Lolo Weideman averages 3.91 digs/set. The Coyotes lead the Summit League at 2.73 blocks per set, good for 24th nationally in the NCAA.

WICHITA STATE
The Shockers are 5-1 on the season, losing only to Kansas, and boosts the top hitting percentage in the American Athletic Conference at .252 as well as ranking second in league in opponent hitting percentage at .174. Kailin Newsome, a freshman transfer from Southeastern Louisiana, leads the way at 3.26 kills per set. She's recorded double-doubles in three of her last four matches and comes in off an 18-kill, 14-dig performance in a five-set win over Delaware. Sophia Rolling, a returning all-conference performer, averages 2.39 kills per set while Lauren McMahon is at 2.14. Libero Lilly Liekweg averages 4.83 digs per set, second in the American Conference. Head coach Chris Lamb, a 22-year veteran, collected win No. 450 against Delaware. 

CREIGHTON
Creighton has matched its best 10-mtach start in program history at 9-1 and have already posted wins over No. 3 Kentucky, Southern Cal, Illinois, Northern Iowa and Missouri. The Bluejays, who have lost only to No. 3 Nebraska, have risen to No. 17 in the nationally poll. All six starters returned for a Creighton team that won a seventh straight Big East title and made a ninth straight NCAA appearance in the spring. Preseason All-Big East selections Jaela Zimmerman (3.67 kills/set, 2.67 digs/set) and Naomi Hickman (1.61 kills/set, 1.33 blocks/set) power the Bluejays. Freshman Norah Sis adds 3.55 kills per set for a team that averages 14.24 kills per set, a total that leads the Big East and ranks 12th nationally. Kendra Wait, the Mizzou Invite MVP, averages 10.45 assists/set as well as 2.97 digs/set. Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in her 19th season. 

WYOMING
Wyoming (6-3) has won four of its last five matches, including a sweep over Missouri last Saturday. Senior middle blocker Jackie McBride, a four-time All-Mountain West selection, averages 2.04 kills per set while hitting .343. KC McMahon averages 2.81 kills per set for a Cowgirls team that has five hitters averaging two of more kills per set. Wyoming ranks second in the Mountain West in blocks at 2.62, which ranks 32nd nationally. Kayla Mazzocca and Lexie Collins both average 1.43 blocks per set. Wyoming has dropped two matches to Saint Mary's (California) and one to Northwestern. All but one starter return for a Wyoming team that went 8-6 last spring and are picked fourth in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll. Chad Callihan is in his ninth season as head coach at Wyoming.

THE SERIES
Wichita State and South Dakota are meeting for the fifth time in school history. The Shockers have won the previous four meetings, two coming in 1983 and then during the Division I era in 2013 and last season. 
This will be the eighth meeting in Division I era between South Dakota and Creighton and the fourth straight with one of the team's being ranked inside the AVCA Top 25 poll. The teams split a pair of matches, each winning on the other's home floor, last season. 
Wyoming and South Dakota are meeting for the fifth time in the Division I era. While the first three meetings all took place in Laramie (2011, 2015, 2017), the Coyotes did notch a win over Wyoming in Vermillion in 2019. 

UP NEXT
The Coyotes will open Summit League play with the South Dakota Showdown Series against South Dakota State on Friday, Sept. 24 inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.