First Serve
South Dakota is headed to the Borderland Invitational, hosted by the University of Texas at El Paso, to play three games over a two-day span. The Coyotes will face Portland State at 11 a.m. Friday before taking on New Mexico at 5 p.m. Friday. South Dakota wraps up the weekend against UTEP at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota heads to El Paso with a 2-1 start on the season, including wins over Northern Kentucky and the SEC's Missouri Tigers at the Coyote Invitational. Elizabeth Juhnke, a two-time Summit League Tournament MVP, leads the Coyotes with 51 kills and 4.64 kills per set. Juhnke, a Coyote Invitational All-Tournament team selection, led South Dakota to its third NCAA tournament appearance in four years. Third-year junior Brooklyn Schram was selected to the Coyote Invitational All-Tournament team after putting up 103 assists (9.36/set), including a league-high 46 assists in the five-set victory over Missouri Aug. 28. The Coyotes added outside hitter Evelyn Diederich and middle blocker Brynn Paumen to the lineup, while two-time first-team all-Summit League middle blocker Madison Harms and fifth-year senior Lolo Weideman return to the lineup.
 
Portland State
The Vikings are coming off their first 20-win season since 2017. Veteran coach Michael Seemann, the reigning Big Sky Coach of the Year, returns two-time Libero of the Year Ellie Snook along with fellow first-team, all-conference performers Makayla Lewis and Parker Webb, the team's top-two kills leaders from a year ago. Seemann added Montana transfer Sophia Meyers to the mix, and she aided PSU in a 3-1 win against Oregon State on opening weekend. The Vikings lost to Long Beach State (3-1) and Oregon (3-0) at the home tournament and are 1-2 on the young season.­­
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New Mexico
The Lobos head to El Paso with a 2-0 start to the season after winning both matches at the Lobo Invitational Aug. 26-27. Third-year head coach Jon Newman-Gonchar, who was named a USA Volleyball U21 assistant coach this summer, returns two-time all-conference outside hitter Kaitlynn Biassou and all-conference outside hitter Uxue Guereca. The Lobos are coming off their first 20-win season since 2013, which led them to the first-round of the Mountain West Tournament, their first appearance since 2011. New Mexico also added Rider University transfer Anilee Sher to the roster, a MAAC Co-Setter of the Year and MAAC Championship MVP.
UTEP
The Miners started the season at the Northwestern Tournament where they went 2-1 with wins over Northeastern and Pacific. Fourth-year head coach Ben Wallis led the Miners to a historic season in 2021, when UTEP earned its first postseason bid and won its first-ever postseason match en route to a semifinal appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. UTEP returns all-freshmen team selection Ema Uskokovic at outside hitter, junior second-team, all-conference outside hitter Alianza Darley, and first-team, all-conference outside hitter Serena Patterson. The three all-conference selections led UTEP to its first 20-win campaign since 2005.
 
Up Next
The Coyotes return to Vermillion to host the 2022 South Dakota Classic Sep. 9-10. South Dakota will play three games over a two-day span, with matches against CSU Bakersfield, West Virginia, and Northern Colorado.