VERMILLION, S.D. – Six matches against postseason teams from 2021 highlight the 2022 South Dakota non-conference volleyball schedule released Wednesday by head coach
Leanne Williamson.
The Coyotes will compete in four non-conference tournaments, including two at home, and of its 12 opponents, three competed in the NCAA Tournament and three competed in the NIVC tournament.
"I believe that this schedule sets our team up for success throughout the year," said Williamson. "We have a range of opponents that will help us prepare for the Summit League which keeps getting better.
"We have once again put together a schedule that will challenge us and allow us to grow from the first match until the last!"
South Dakota, for the first time ever, will open its season playing at home, inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center when it hosts the four-team Coyote Invitational Aug. 26-28.
Coming to Vermillion for that opening weekend are Louisville, Northern Kentucky and Missouri as the same four teams played in an event last season in Louisville. This year marks year two of a four-year contract that will see the same four teams compete in a weekend event in Columbia, Missouri and Highland Heights, Kentucky.
The Coyotes will open their season against Louisville, an NCAA Final Four participant in 2021 and a top five team nationally, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. The Cardinal went 32-1 and fell to Wisconsin in the national semifinals.
South Dakota will face off with Northern Kentucky Aug. 27 at 6 p.m., and then meet Missouri Aug. 28 at 1 p.m.
"We are very excited to be able to open our season with a home tournament and play in front of our fans right away!" said Williamson. "However, it is even more exciting to be bringing the high caliber of opponents here as well!
"I am expecting the SCSC to have an electric atmosphere that weekend!"
South Dakota will travel to El Paso, Texas, during the second weekend of the season Sept. 2-3 to compete against Portland State, UTEP and New Mexico. All three teams won at least 20 matches in 2021 and Portland State and UTEP participated in the NIVC with UTEP reaching the semifinals.
Three postseason tournament teams from 2021 in CSU Bakersfield (NIVC), West Virginia (NCAA) and Northern Colorado (NCAA) come to Vermillion as part of the 2022 South Dakota Classic which takes place inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Sept. 9-10.
The Coyotes will face off with CSU Bakersfield and West Virginia Sept. 9, while the final match against Northern Colorado Sept. 10 (6 p.m.) will take place in Sioux Falls at the Sanford Pentagon.
"We love playing at home, so it is incredible to have the ability to host two tournaments during the preseason!" Williamson said. "We have loved playing at the Pentagon the past few years, and we are looking forward to playing a very good program in Northern Colorado in Sioux Falls!
"It should be a great match for Coyote fans and volleyball fans to come out and watch!"
South Dakota will close its non-conference slate by traveling to Tampa, Florida, to compete in a tournament hosted by South Florida Sept. 16-17. Stetson and Cornell are the other two teams involved in this event.
Season tickets for Coyote volleyball are available online at GoYotes.com, or by calling the USD ticket office at 605-677-5959.
