First Serve
South Dakota is headed to Tampa, Florida, for the Bulls Volleyball Invitational, where they will play three games over two days. The Coyotes will face Stetson at 9 a.m. Friday before taking on Cornell at 3:30 p.m. Friday. South Dakota wraps up the weekend against South Florida at noon Saturday.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota (8-1) is currently on an eight-game winning streak, with their first and only loss to No. 4 Louisville on Aug. 26. The eight straight wins ties the Coyotes' best start to a season, and currently ranks seventh in the NCAA. South Dakota returns junior all-American outside hitter Elizabeth Juhnke, a back-to-back Summit League Offensive Peak Performer of the Week recipient. Juhnke currently ranks third in the NCAA at 181 kills this season and sixth at 4.89 kills per set. Reigning Summit League Offensive Peak Performer of the Week Madison Harms, fifth-year defensive specialist Lolo Weideman, and senior outside hitter Aimee Adams also return to the starting lineup for the Coyotes. Harms, the South Dakota Classic MVP, is averaging 2.68 kills per set while hitting .401, a league best. Junior Brooklyn Schram put up a career-high 58 assists in South Dakota's 3-2 victory over Northern Colorado Saturday. Schram's 377 total assists ranks first in the league and 11th in the NCAA overall.
 
Stetson
Stetson (8-1) is led by reigning ASUN Freshman of the Year Nyah Molina, who is the first Hatter to be named freshman of the year. Molina, the starting setter for the Hatters, tallied 23 double-doubles last season which set a school rally-scoring era record. Outside hitter Elena Djokovic also returns for the Hatters after leading the team at 3.59 kills per set last season. Freshman middle blocker Sophia Groom's .443 hitting percentage currently ranks first in the conference and sixth in the NCAA overall. Defensive specialist Lauren Vargo puts up a team-high 3.04 digs per set for the Hatters.
 
Cornell
Cornell (2-4) is led by 2017 Ivy League Coach of the Year Trudy Vande Berg, who led Cornell to three consecutive third place finishes in the conference from 2017-2019. After a 5-17 finish in 2021, the Big Red are looking to bounce back behind outside hitter Eliza Konvicka. The freshman leads Cornell with 67 kills and 2.91 kills per set. Middle blocker Sammie Engel's .411 hitting percentage leads the league and ranks 28^th nationally. Sophomore libero Jackie Baker defends the backcourt for Cornell with a team-high 3.12 digs per set while senior Emma Worthington returns as the starting setter and averages 9.08 assists per set.
 
South Florida
After finishing 7-24 last season with just one conference win, the Bulls (4-5) are off to a better start this season behind junior outside hitter Marta Cvitkovic. She started all matches in 2021 and led USF in kills at 373, which ranked seventh in the AAC. Senior libero CC Clausen recently broke USF's all-time program digs record with 1,751 digs. She averages 4.03 digs per set for the Bulls, which ranks fourth in the AAC. True freshman Maria Clara Andrade currently leads the Bulls with 2.89 kills per set, while middle blocker Amiree Hendricks-Walker holds down the net with 31 blocks.
 
Up Next 
South Dakota returns to Vermillion to start Summit League play with matches against Omaha Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. and Denver Sept. 24 at 4:45 p.m. in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.