First Serve
South Dakota heads to St. Paul, Minnesota, to take on St. Thomas Thursday at 7 p.m. before heading to Macomb, Illinois, to face Western Illinois at noon Saturday.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota (14-2, 3-1 Summit) returns junior all-American outside hitter Elizabeth Juhnke, who currently leads the NCAA with 346 kills. The five-time Summit League Performer of the Week recorded a league record 39 kills in South Dakota's five-set match against NDSU last week. The 39 kills set a USD program record and set the mark for most kills in a match in the NCAA this season. Middle blocker Madison Harms, fifth-year defensive specialist Lolo Weideman, and senior outside hitter Aimee Adams also return to the rotation for the Coyotes. Harms recorded a career-high 12 blocks in USD's 3-1 win over Denver on Sept. 24, which tied the four-set program record. Weideman also hit a career-mark in the Denver match, totaling 34 digs and matching the four-set program record. Her 4.48 digs per set leads the league, while Brooklyn Schram's 682 total assists lead the league and ranks sixth in the NCAA.
 
St. Thomas
St. Thomas (2-15, 0-5) is entering its second year of Division I play after joining the Summit League last year. The Tommies are led by 2021 Summit All-Freshman Team member Lauren Galvin, who just reached the 500 career kill milestone in St. Thomas' 3-0 loss to Omaha on Saturday. Prior to its 2021 transition to Division I, St. Thomas held the title of MIAC powerhouse, totaling 17 regular-season championships and becoming the first MIAC volleyball team to win a Division III NCAA championship in 2012. Thanh Pham is entering his 20^th year at the helm for the Tommies and continues to lead the team through its transition after garnering six MIAC coach of the year honors.
 
The Series
The Coyotes and Tommies met twice last year with South Dakota sweeping the series.
 
Western Illinois
Western Illinois (4-13, 0-5) is looking to turn things around with first-year head coach Dale Starr. Starr joins the Leathernecks from Robert Morris, where he led the Colonials to a 15-1 conference record and a regular season championship in 2019. The Leathernecks are led by 2021 Summit All-Freshman team member Brittany Wulf, who is averaging 3.09 kills per set. Libero Karli Wenzel holds down the back row for Western Illinois, averaging 4.17 digs per set. Wenzel picked up her first defensive peak performer of the week honor on Sept. 13, the first conference weekly honor for a Leatherneck since 2017.
 
The Series
In the Division I era, the Coyotes hold a 20-3 advantage over WIU. South Dakota has won the last 13 matches against the Leathernecks, with WIU's last victory a 3-2 decision in Vermillion on Sept. 25, 2015.
 
Up Next 
South Dakota returns to Vermillion to host Oral Roberts on Oct. 13 and Kansas City on Oct. 15.