First Serve
South Dakota, for the first-time ever, will open its season playing at home inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The Coyotes open the season by hosting 2021 Final Four team Louisville at 7 p.m. Friday. Saturday, South Dakota will face off against Northern Kentucky at 6 p.m. before finishing the weekend with a 1 p.m. match against Missouri on Sunday. All matches will be played in the Sports Center and streamed on GoYotes.com
 
The Coyotes
The Coyotes (20-10) return junior all-American outside hitter Elizabeth Juhnke, who led South Dakota to its third NCAA tournament appearance in four years. A native of Lakeville, Minnesota, Juhnke was named the Summit League Tournament MVP for the second consecutive season. Junior middle blocker Madison Harms, fifth-year defensive specialist Lolo Weideman, and senior outside hitter Aimee Adams also return to the starting lineup for the Coyotes. Harms, a two-time first-team all-Summit League middle blocker, was the Coyotes' third-leading hitter at 2.52 kills per set and 257 total kills. Weideman returns at libero where her 4.59 digs per set and 533 total digs were a Summit League best.
 
Louisville
The Cardinals (32-1), picked fourth in the Preseason AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, come to Vermillion fresh off a historic run in the 2021 season. The Cardinals went 28-0 in the regular season and won the ACC Championship. From there, they made a run in the NCAA Tournament all the way to the Final Four. Louisville returns all but two starters to the lineup, including third-team All-American outside hitter Anna DeBeer and AVCA all-East Region players Aiko Jones, Elena Scott and Amaya Tillman.
 
Northern Kentucky
The Norse (20-8), runner-up in the Horizon League last year, bring back three first-team all-league performers in Anna Brinkmann (kills leader), Reilly Briggs (331 kills) and Abby Kanakry (100 blocks). Senior libero Anna Burke returns as does leading setter Katy Yopko.
 
Missouri
The Tigers (5-26) hope to bounce back behind senior outside hitter Anna Dixon, who was selected to train with the 2022 collegiate national team. Dixon led the Tigers in kills last season and was 10th overall among the SEC in points. The Tigers made six consecutive NCAA tournaments prior to last season, including a first-round win against South Dakota during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 spring season in Omaha.
 
Up Next
The Coyotes will head to the Borderland Invitational Sept. 2-3 in El Paso, Texas. South Dakota will play three games over two days with opponents including Portland State, New Mexico, and UTEP.