FIRST SERVE
The South Dakota Coyotes will look to open the 2021 season with a trip to Louisville, Kentucky for three matches. Friday's season opener against Northern Kentucky begins at 3:30 p.m. followed by Saturday's match with 12th-ranked Louisville at 5 p.m. and a Sunday morning 9:30 a.m. match with Missouri. All matches are inside the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
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.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY
The Norse split two matches to open the season, falling to Ohio State before rallying past Ohio 3-2. Anna Brinkman, who had 15 kills in the win over Ohio, is the team's early season leader in kills per set at 2.63. Brinkman also ranks second in digs per set (3.00) behind libero Anna Burke at 4.25. Reilly Briggs has 15 kills, Abby Kanakry 13 and Miranda Wucherer 10 through two matches. Wucherer (3.38 a/set) and Katy Yopko (4.38 a/set) are the setters in the 6-2 offensive attack. Northern Kentucky brought back 11 letterwinners from the 2020-21 season, a 9-5 campaign played solely against Horizon League teams. The Norse finished third in the Horizon during the 2021 spring season. Brinkman, a two-time All-Horizon League First Team selection, averaged 3.52 kills/set in limited action in the spring. This is the first ever meeting between the Coyotes and Norse.
LOUISVILLE
The 12th-ranked Cardinals are 3-0 after posting wins over Cal Poly, A&M Corpus Christi and Arizona State. Anna DeBeer, who had 36 kills and 29 digs in those three matches, was named tournament MVP at the Sun Devil Invitational. Anna Stevenson (21 kills, 11 blocks) and Amaya Tillman (24 kills, 20 blocks) were named to the all-tournament team. DeBeer was the ACC Freshman of the Year in the spring, averaging 3.15 kills/set. Stevenson, an AVCA Second Team All-American, ranked 10th nationally with a .406 hitting percentage in 2020. Tori Dilfer, was an AVCA Third Team All-American and ACC Setter of the Year, averaging 10.93 assists/set. Louisville, who went 15-3 in the spring, was picked second in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll. This will be the first ever meeting between the Coyotes and the Cardinals.
MISSOURI
Missouri enters week two with an uncharacteristic 0-3 mark after suffering losses to Saint Louis, Kansas City and Creighton. The Tigers have just four of their nine rotation players back from its NCAA tournament team in the spring that defeated South Dakota in the first round. Anna Dixon, one of the four returners, leads the offense at 4.0 kills/set. A pair of freshman are next in line as Kayla Burbarge has 24 kills and Kaylee Cox 20 through the team's first three matches. Nicole Alford, a transfer from Maryland, is the team's setter, averaging 10.5 per set. Libero Emily Brown, another returner, is averaging 4.0 digs per set. This is the third all-time meeting between the Tigers and Coyotes.
UP NEXT
The Coyotes will host the South Dakota Classic on Sept. 9-11 inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Bradley, Central Arkansas and Milwaukee are the other teams coming to Vermillion.
